This is How it Ends
by In-betweens
Summary: SwanQueen. AU. Emma opens the door on her 28th birthday to find not a young boy at her door but his very desperate, beautiful, and infuriating mother. Regina needs Emma. Will Emma help her? *-*UPDATED 6/8*-*
1. Chapter One

**Title**: This is How It Ends  
**Author**: In-Betweens  
**Disclaimer**: I do not own nor will I ever own any of the characters in Once Upon a Time. I am simply borrowing them for a bit of a different ride. I am not making any profit from this. I promise.  
**Author's Note**: Apparently I'm evil and this story proves how evil I am. Swan Queen in a very different way.  
**Author's Note 2**: For those of you waiting on an update for A Bounty for a Witch's Heart, by the end of the week there will be one up for that story as well. With everything squared away and the summer here I will now, hopefully with the grace of TPTB, have time to finish that story and this one within the next few weeks. :-D Until then, I hope you'll enjoy the ride.  
**Plot**: Swan Queen. AU. Emma Swan opens the door on her 28th birthday to find not a young boy at her door but his very desperate, beautiful, and infuriating mother. Regina needs Emma. Will Emma help her in her greatest time of need or simply send her on her way?

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Now or never, Regina, now or never._

There was a very good reason why she was doing this, she told herself over and over again as she stood in front of a nondescript apartment building. The car she'd driven here was parked around the corner where she had been sitting, waiting, and watching for her prey to return home. She did not like to think about why the woman she was stalking would be coming home so late and dressed as she was.

Surely the bottom half of that red cocktail dress had simply been misplaced, it did not come off the rack that short? Did it? Regina would forgo thinking about what the blonde was doing wearing such an outfit on a weeknight. Maybe she was a little jealous that there were people who could still enjoy themselves into the wee hours of the morning on a weekday—a school night. It would not do to think about the philandering's of this woman when there were much more important matters to attend to. Such as walking into the very same apartment building she had been surveying all evening.

It was unacceptable to be so nervous. She was not some common woman. She was not told no lightly, and in this matter failure was not an option. She would leave this wretched city with what she wanted, no. She would leave with what she _needed._ It was simply a fateful misfortune that what she needed happened to be something only the woman inside this apartment building could give her.

Looking up the twenty story building she felt a touch of rain upon her cheek. Her lips pursed into a thin line as she looked at the waiting doors in front of her. She would not stand out here in the rain contemplating failure. She was Regina Mills for god's sake! She did not do failure or fear.

Fear was for the weak and no one would ever describe her as weak. No one. Except, maybe, herself. In this moment, as she stared at the glass doors of the modern Bostonian architecture, her vision blurred, her heart raced, and she was scared.

Scared enough to look around her to make sure no one saw her wipe away her tears. It had been years since she had allowed herself to cry, five to be exact. Five years, almost to the day, she had shed her last tear. When in a position such as hers you could not afford to shed tears. You needed to be strong and resolute. You needed to be constant and supportive and brave. You could not be scared or helpless or tearful. You had to be the adult. You had to put others in front of yourself and never look back.

She wouldn't look back. Not even now. There was a simple way to forgo the humiliation she was about to endure. It was so easy in fact, she almost considered it. All she had to do was turn on her high heels and walk back to her car. Turn the ignition, check her rearview mirror and pull out into traffic, only looking back to ensure her safety while driving. There would be no other reason to look back. She could face failure head on, it did not need to slink in behind her like a coward. There in lie the problem.

She couldn't do it.

The shame of it, the cowardice of taking off would forever eat away at her. She was here for a reason, she had a purpose here, and she would fulfill that purpose even if it meant she had to degrade herself in the process. The means would be worth the end result. It had to be worth it in the end. This trip would and could not be worthless. It would be fruitful. It had to be.

It was now or never.

The sky above Regina began to rumble as the storm that had been approaching all day finally arrived. How poetic it was for the sheer cut of lightening sparking across the dark ominous sky be the backdrop in which she finally succumbed to what needed to be done.

Looking at the call buttons with the names of residents, found the name she was looking for, squared her shoulders and crossed the open lobby to the elevator. The elevator thankfully was in working order and it only reeked of stale air, aftershave, and a touch of a sweet floral scent. Pressing her thumb to the round 8 she watched the edges light up in acknowledgement of her destination. Stepping to the back wall of the metal lift she waited patiently for the doors to close, thankful when no one stepped into lift with her. Whatever doubts or fears that had plagued her since her arrival here in Boston washed away. They had no place here anymore.

Steeling herself against whatever was to come; Regina promised that she would not be leaving this building alone.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Emma smiled lazily at the cupcake in front of her. The flame on the single candle flickered in front of her, weaving and waving about as she leaned down against the countertop. With her arms crossed in front of her as she leaned down the flame's reflection glittered in her eyes. She pursed her lips as if to whistle and blew. The candle did not extinguish, rather it flickered and continued to burn brightly.

_Huh…_Emma thought with a snide smirk, maybe her wish for world peace was too much for the poor candle. Laughing at her thoughts, at least to herself, she pulled in a breath of air, the flame bending towards her for a moment, and readied a new wish. With it in mind she…

***Knock* *Knock* *Knock* *Knock***

…sputtered a bit at the unannounced visitor knocking on her door and looked at the candle as if the wax star burning brightly in front of her held all the answers. Like, who was at her door at eleven pm? The candle didn't give her an answer so, that only left one last way to find out. She sighed and the flame burned out in a puff of smoke. Shrugging, she swiped some of the icing off of the cupcake and walked to the door. With her finger firmly in her mouth licking and sucking it clean of the frosty goodness she opened the door.

The sight of a well-dressed woman in what Emma could only describe as killer business attire stood before her in the hallway. Popping her finger from her mouth Emma swallowed, giving the brunette a once over. The black pinstripe slacks and grey 'prada designer someone or other' blouse stood out against the deep red lining of her black trench coat. The shoes though, they really caught Emma's attention. They were black close toed four inch heels, any further design of the shoes were lost behind her pants. But honestly Emma was tempted to ask where the woman had purchased them. Then again, by the mere look of them they cost more than she made in a month.

"Miss Swan?" The woman's tone was hollow, as if already bored.

_Geeze, she only just got here,_ Emma's inner viper snipped.

Emma narrowed her eyes, "Whose asking?"

"Is Ms. Emma Swan available?" The woman asked again, her resigned look making it clear that she wasn't going to be an easy shoo away. Emma didn't like her already but Emma didn't like a lot of people so that wasn't very surprising.

"Look, whatever you're selling, it's probably too expensive for me anyway, so…" Emma nodded her head in farewell, and pushed her palm against the edge of the door closing it in the woman's face.

Rather, she tried to close it in the woman's face.

A gloved hand shot out and kept the door from closing. As if to further the point that she wasn't going anywhere the tip of her heeled foot also joined the hand in keeping the door open.

"Look lady I'm not really in the mood for visitors." _Especially ones that know me as Swan._

"Then you are Miss Swan, Ms. Emma Swan?"

Emma already felt like she'd been asked that a hundred times in the last minute. Why was it she couldn't enjoy her birthday in peace? All she wanted to do was grab another beer from the fridge, plop down on the couch and watch some television. Basically sulk the night away. "Yeah, see, you already asked that. When I asked who was asking you ignored me. I don't typically let strangers into my apartment or talk to them unless they're attractive."

The what's-her-name-woman huffed out an insulted breath. "Lucky for me then as I normally would have no wish to speak to someone of your…" Her brown eyes took in Emma from head to toe and the blonde couldn't help the shiver that coursed through her at the appraising look. The smirk that formed on the brunette's face, tilted to the right side of her face, made her look a bit evil. So maybe that movie about the devil wearing prada was somewhat factual. "…lesser caliber."

Emma laughed harshly, shaking her head from side to side. "You really have a way of sweet talking your way into a stranger's apartment…" Emma sarcastically cast, rolling her eyes at the glare directed towards her.

The only reason Emma hadn't closed the door, with the woman's foot in the jam, was merely due to her curiosity and fear that this woman was sent here by a mutual friend. She was infinitely curious about who this woman was. Even if it seemed that hell would have to freeze over before she was given a name.

"I'm going to give you five seconds to move your foot and hand. If by that time you haven't moved them I'm going to close the door on them anyway." Emma warned. "One…"

"There is no need to resort to violence Miss Swan I am…"

"Two—"

"…merely here to speak with you for a…"

"Three—"

"…moment. Would you please refrain from counting it is not like I…"

"Four—"

"…am an imbecile! I am capable of counting to…"

"Five," they said at the same time, their voices melding into one although the brunette's snotty tone almost gave hers a bigger edge than Emma's.

Emma brought her other hand up to the door and kicked her sneakered foot against the tip of the high heel in the doorway, making the woman stumble as her foot was moved back out into the hallway where it belonged. Nodding, as if saying, see ya, Emma pushed the door closed.

Almost closed.

"WAIT!" The woman raised her voice, and slipped her entire body into the small crack preventing Emma from closing the door. Again.

_For the love of…_ "What is your problem?" Emma raged stomping her foot as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. What _was_ this woman's problem? _Oh god_…Emma froze, what if she was some crazy lunatic that escaped from a mental hospital? Or a wife or family member of a begrudged person she'd help put back in jail for skipping bail? Swallowing Emma tried to remember which drawer in the kitchen had her handgun in it.

"Regina." The woman spat out as if the name was a curse.

"What..?" Emma questioned again not following the woman's train of thought.

"My name." Emma blinked. "You asked who was asking. My name is Regina Mills. I've come to speak with you about an urgent matter. Please, may I come in?"

Emma went over the cases she'd had in the last month. There were at least a dozen of them and Mills didn't register as any in her mind. To be sure she'd have to look through the notebook she kept on the cases she had collected on. Normally there was no time like the present in her mind, but with an unidentified friend or foe literally halfway through her doorway, well, Emma would have to wait to check her files.

"Forgive me if I say no." Emma really didn't care one way or the other if the woman didn't forgive her. "For now. What's the urgent matter?"

The woman—Regina, sighed her hands still against the edge of the door to keep it open at least enough so she wouldn't suffer any harm from it hitting her. The gloves put Emma on edge and the trench coat that she had been admiring before suddenly made a pit form in her stomach.

"It is a matter that should not be discussed with me hanging through your door…"

"Look, Regina…"

"Ms. Mills or Mayor Mills…will do, Miss Swan." The edge to the woman's voice was back, and her eyes narrowed into slits again.

_Wonderful, the harpy's back, _Emma rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Ms…wait a second." Emma stopped and scrutinized the woman in front of her. She'd said Mayor, but the Mayor of Boston was currently Thomas Menino, had been since 1993 and this woman certainly wasn't him. "Mayor, Mayor of where?"

The Mayor heaved a sigh, and looked as if she wanted to pinch the bridge of her nose in irritation. "Storybrooke, Maine."

Emma spit out a laugh, "You're shitting me, right?" _Who named a place Storybrooke? _

"I can assure you, Miss Swan that I am not…" Her face contorted into distaste "…_shitting_ you. Now, may I please come in?"

"Yeah, alright, fine but stay by the door for a minute…" Emma opened the door and stepped away from it towards the kitchen. "Kay?"

"Yes, that will be fine Miss Swan, thank you." Emma nodded, and let Mayor Mills close the door behind her.

Emma kept her eyes on the brunette as she stepped backwards through her apartment, her hands sliding over the edge of her counter tops to help guide her. Finding her notebook on the counter by the coffee machine she opened the book and looked through the last twelve entries. None of those she'd brought in had been from Maine or had any close relative named Mills. Satisfied she closed the book and moved back towards her guest, who was taking in the apartment as critically as she had taken in Emma's lounging-gruff look.

Seeing a frown crease the woman's face Emma crossed her arms, defensive of the obvious distaste. "So, I'd apologize for being a bitch but I'm not exactly sorry. Can I get you some coffee, tea, a beer?"

Regina turned to look at her, an expectant smile upon her face. "Coffee would be lovely."

"Sure, it'll be a little while." Emma pre-warned.

"That's fine."

"Okay…" Emma felt uncomfortable as she got the can of coffee from her cupboard and grabbed a filter off the shelf. She only had two mugs as she never needed more than that. She'd only just gotten the second one because her favorite I 3 New York mug chipped last week. Turning around she leaned against the counter, her hands gripping the edge as her eyes tracked Regina's slow progress around the apartment.

The brunette's heels clicked against the hardwood floors, echoing around the otherwise silent space.

"So…" Emma cleared her throat, "You said you had something important to talk to me about. I don't know what it could be…" Emma laughed, nervously, "I've never even heard of Storybrooke, Maine. Let alone been there."

Regina turned around slowly, her focus no longer on the beautiful skyline visible out Emma's windows. Emma liked the apartment for that very reason. The west wall was nothing but windows making the place seem larger than it really was. There was just something about being able to look out onto the vastness that was Boston, the freedom one could feel, even if it was rainy and you were trapped inside.

The click-clack of the heels pulled Emma from her thoughts as she pushed off the counter to lean against the island that was between herself and Regina. Crossing her ankles behind her she bent down a bit and crossed her wrists in front of her against the brown slate stone. She watched Regina like a hawk taking careful note of each of her movements and the flickering of her brown eyes.

"I would suppose you wouldn't have heard of it. However, where I live does not truly pertain to why I am here."

"Well it should, I mean you came all this way."

"How far I've come…" Regina sighed and looked to the right, "is irrelevant. I would have traveled oversees if that was where you were located."

Regina saw the single cupcake on the other end of the island with its birthday candle and missing frosting. The smell of dissolute smoke was vaguely upon the air between them. Her brow raised in question as she met Emma's eyes once again.

"It's my birthday." Emma explained easily, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh, Happy Birthday." Regina's eyes actually sparkled a bit and the wish seemed to be genuine. But as soon as it had arrived any warmth or kindness quickly vanished. But not before Emma caught sight of the other woman's worry.

_Interesting…_

Emma stared at Regina, trying to get a better read on the woman. The gate was down, it had crashed back down the moment Regina had seemed to relax—if that were even possible. Emma didn't know Regina, but she could guess that Regina was the uptight type of person who really **really** needed a good lay to relax. Even _then_, Emma could hardly see Regina relaxed.

An image of the brunette's eyes dark and lidded flashed across her mind's eye as her ears imagined hearing the low and husky voice of the mayor moaning in pleasure, on their own accord. Silk sheets would frame the woman; her mouth would fall open in a soundless cry as her back arched off the bed and…

*PING*

Emma blinked away the haze that had come over her thoughts and spun around to get the coffee. "How do you take your coffee?"

" one sugar."

You could tell a lot about a person by how they took their coffee, and Regina's preference made Emma cringe, only while her back was to Regina of course. She wasn't that rude. Emma couldn't stand black coffee. She preferred half and half or Coffee Mate sweetener, hazelnut or French Vanilla. _To each their own…_

Bringing both cups of coffee back to the island Emma put the newer plain black mug in front of Regina and sipped at her own. She watched as the mayor simply stirred hers around. The Mayor's thoughts seemingly trapped, drowning, lost in the depths of the caffeinated brew so intently she looked at the liquid.

Clearing her throat, Emma pulled Regina's attention back to the matter at hand. From the startled look on the brunette's face, Emma assumed it wasn't every day that Regina was lost in thought. "What's so important to come all the way to Boston to talk to me? I'm not exactly on anyone's list of 'must sees' in this city, Madame Mayor. To be honest? It's more than a little creepy to think you'd come looking for me even if I was overseas."

Regina didn't seem to mind Emma's bluntness; after all, the brunette had started it with her hostile introduction.

"My son is why I'm here Miss Swan. He is the reason I have come all this way and he would be the reason I traveled to the ends of the earth to find you."

Emma took another sip of her coffee, holding her mug loosely in her hand above the counter as she shook her head from side to side in question, "Oh…kay…I'm not following. What do I have to do with your son?"

"He is not my biological son."

"Uhhh…" Emma felt something ghost across the back of her neck, warning her against whatever was to come from this conversation.

Regina sighed and put her mug down. It took the brunette only a moment to look away from her coffee mug and into Emma's blue eyes. "He is _your_ biological child."

The fire behind the mahogany eyes kept Emma transfixed even as Regina literally tore apart everything she'd worked so hard to build up. The mug slipped from her hand and the sound of porcelain breaking echoed through the apartment as Regina jumped back from her side of the counter, the hot liquid racing towards her as it splashed across the countertop.

Emma snapped out of her daze as the coffee burned her arm. Hissing she moved to grab some paper towels. She threw them down on the counter and let them absorb most of the coffee while she rushed over to the sink and ran her arm under cold water. Her skin was red and irritated and her hands shook.

_My son_…

Regina was here to talk to her about her son, the baby that she had given up ten years ago. Regina was here because of the same child that Emma had done her best not to think about all day. It was hard, especially on his birthday and Christmas and mother's day and today but she did her best to drown away those days into alcohol induced blackness. He was better off without her. She had nothing to offer a child even ten years later. Sure she had a job and an apartment but she only just settled down into this apartment six months ago and her job wasn't steady. Nothing about her life was steady. A child deserved to have stability in their life. Didn't they?

So why in the world was Regina here? Why come now? What was it that she wanted from Emma so many years later?

"I suppose I should have expected that." Regina spoke from behind Emma, and the blonde spun around, the faucet still running as her eyes bore into the brunette.

Beneath her breast her heart hammered erratically against its cage, begging to be released. "What the hell are you doing here? Why the _hell_ did you come? What right do you have to even come looking for me? I…I…this is, ugh…get out!"

"Now Miss Swan I know this is a very shocking turn of events but if you would just calm down…"

"CALM DOWN!? CALM DOWN!? Lady you need to get the fuck out of here before I call the cops. You shouldn't even know who I am! It was a closed adoption. Closed! Legally binding. How…" Emma seemed to be losing steam, even if she had more questions than answers at the moment. "…how did you even get my name?"

"I have my sources." The cryptic bullshit with the shrewd smirk was not what Emma needed to hear or see right now.

"I asked you to leave. No, I **told** you to leave. So, I think it's time that you do that." Emma moved to stand directly in front of Regina, cutting her off from any part of the kitchen. She promised herself that if this woman did not start moving immediately she was going to force her to walk out her door.

Regina squared her shoulders and threw down the damp brown colored paper towels that she had apparently used to clean up the mess Emma had made. Emma hadn't even noticed.

"I am not going anywhere Miss Swan. I am here to discuss with you—"

"What! What are you here to discuss? Hmm…?"

"Henry—"

_Who the fuck is Henry?!_

"_**Who**_?!"

Regina heaved a deep breath, "My son."

Emma froze. _Henry…_

The little bundle of wiggling flesh and deep red rosy cheeks and blue eyes much like her own had a name. He wasn't just 'the kid' or 'the boy' or 'the baby'—though he wouldn't have been a baby in a long time. He wasn't the infant swathed in cloth that she watched a nurse carry away from her and out the door of the hospital wing for her to never see again. He was still a figment of her imagination as she had no idea what he could look like now all grown up. She hoped he didn't look like his father.

So, she didn't know what he looked like but now she at least had a name to go along with her imaginations of him in a big backyard with a puppy and a loving doting mother and father.

_His name is Henry_…

Swallowing Emma nodded, "Oh…" Emma felt her heart begin to slow down—thankfully. The last thing she needed was to have a heart attack on her 28th birthday. The fight or flight instinct slowly seeped out of her, her breath still lost to her as she looked at Regina.

_Regina…is the mother of my kid._

"Yes. Well…" Regina stuck her hands into the pockets of her trench coat and pulled it around her for a moment. Her eyes were weary as she looked around the kitchen before focusing on Emma once again, her arms slacking at her sides as she relaxed. The distance between them was of no concern to Regina, even if it was a bit uncomfortable to stand toe to toe with Miss Swan.

The mere idea of this hard woman as a mother frightened Emma, but not enough to say anything. If Regina had come all this way because of Hen…because of _the kid_, then she obviously cared about him one way or another. Didn't she? She certainly seemed to by the vehemence she exhibited at the idea of her insulting him.

"So, what about the kid?"

Regina's jaw flexed, apparently she didn't like the term 'the kid'. _Oh well, too bad._

"He has a _name_…." Regina hissed.

"Yeah, Henry, which I just learned so sorry if I'm a little uncomfortable even saying 'the kid' let alone Henry. I've done my best not to think about him for my own personal reasons, so having his name and his mother thrown into my face isn't exactly how I wanted my birthday to go." Emma shook her head and looked down at her feet, her white easy spirit sneakers vivid against the hardwood floor.

She needed a moment to collect herself. Just a single moment where she could pretend that Regina Mills, Mayor of Storybrooke Maine hadn't just arrived at her apartment wanting to talk about Henry Mills, Regina's son, but really he was Emma's biological son. Emma didn't care much about biology. Never had. Her biological parents had left her on the side of the road to die. At least she had had the decency to leave Henry in the capable hands of the State of New York.

In all the foster homes she had been in she'd met a great deal of women, of mothering types, and judging by what she had seen of Regina thus far, Henry would have been a spoiled little kid that got everything he wanted so long as it fit under Regina's strict rules. Strict parents were not bad parents. They weren't. Emma had seen sweet and loving parents and she'd seen strict and hard faced parents in her day. They were both good parents, they just never seemed to want to keep her around.

She'd seen bad parents, learned to spot them easily so she knew what to expect of her stay in their homes. Here, as she looked at Regina, Emma didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Not a single red flag on the detection system she had created for her own survival and hadn't had to rely on for nearly eleven years. So…she might be a bit out of practice, but so far Regina Mills was racking in the points for having the balls to come down the east coast looking for her.

For whatever reason it was she did.

Really, Emma had no intentions of thinking about her past unless she had a bottle of liquor available. Which come to think of it, she didn't, just three beers in the fridge.

_Great…_Groaning, Emma ran her hand through her hair, pushing it back away from her face as she looked up. Regina was still right in front of her, watching her like a hungry lion did a gazelle.

"Do you have a point here, or are you just here to annoy the shit out of me?"

If looks could kill, Emma would have been twelve feet under. Not six, but twelve. "I assure you Miss Swan I have a point to make. I simply wished to have a civilized conversation with you. I had hoped to ease you into the knowledge of who I am. I simply did not take into account your…" Regina looks as if she's swallowed something bitter as she drags her eyes down Emma and back up. "…personality."

Emma laughed bitterly, "If you're here to just insult me then I think it's time you hit the road, Jane."

"Excuse me?" Regina doesn't seem to understand the reference.

"You know, like hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more no more?" Still, there was nothing. "Ugh…pop-culture reference that you should get because you're obviously older than I am."

Regina's eyes widened, and her jaw slacked a bit lower. "Be that as it may, I believe that we should both take a seat."

Emma rolled her eyes, "You have a knack for ignoring me. I don't want to take a seat, I want you to leave."

"I cannot do that Miss Swan." Regina's eyes blazed for a moment, and Emma swallowed nervously at the look upon the woman's face.

"Why…?"

"I promised myself that I would not leave here without you."

Emma took an involuntary step back. Now she was really contemplating looking through her drawers to find the handgun she hadn't used since the last time she went to the shooting range to get certified. "Ha…" Emma breathed a convulsive laugh, "You aren't leaving here without me? Like kidnapping?"

"I believe the term would be abduction as you are no child." Emma's heart plummeted into her stomach. "I am not a criminal Miss Swan. I have no intention of taking you against your will. I simply hope that you've inherited a decent nature, and will come on your own accord." There was no physical eye roll but Emma could hear it in her voice, that and the woman calling her an imbecile without actually saying it aloud. How odd, she could so easily read the woman and she'd only been standing in her kitchen for…fifteen minutes.

"To Maine!?"

"No to Tahiti…" Regina rolled her eyes, "_**Yes…**_to Maine."

Emma laughed, cause what else could she do? "Look, lady, I'm not going anywhere with you."

"I do not believe you understand the imperativeness of this situation, Miss Swan."

"No, and I don't think you understand what it'll mean for you to be thrown in jail if I call the cops. So, do us both a favor. Get to the point or get out. Actually, do both. Get to the point _while _you'regetting out."

Regina seemed to consider her options for a moment, her teeth ground together as she glared at Emma. Emma shivered under the gaze but felt like she was slowly becoming immune to it…if only a little bit. Regina looked like she could be a mighty imposing woman when she wanted to be.

When the mayor continued to remain silent Emma shook her head and grabbed a tight hold on the woman's forearm. Knowing in other circumstances Emma would never do this; she pulled Regina along with her heading towards the door. She wasn't one for man-handling a woman, but special circumstances and all.

"What do you think you're doing?" Regina still had the sense of mind to ask why she was being man handled.

"The door's this way…" Emma explained.

"Wait…" Regina's desperation seemed to return full force as she yanked her arm free of Emma's hold, nearly stumbling backwards in her heels by the force she pulled away with. "Henry needs your help."

Emma sighed frustrated, and turned impatiently to look at the Mayor. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Henry is ill. He's very…" Regina's voice caught, "…the doctors say he's dying."

"Die…" Emma felt bile rise as everything seemed to turn upside down.

"They say that but…they're wrong. There _**is**_ a way to help him. To save him! He needs a transplant. He needs something only you can give him. He has a very distinct blood type. He's already had a transplant and he's rejected it because of his antibodies. He needs another transplant or he's going to die, Miss Swan. So, I've come here, all this way, because Henry needs you to come back with me. He needs you and I…I need you to save my son. I can't stand by and let him die."

Emma recoiled as if slapped, "_**What?**_" Her brain literally could not compute what it was being told by her eardrums. The words were there and they sounded like English, but surely Regina wasn't speaking English because none of this made any sense.

"Miss Swan I'm beginning to think that you have a very limited vocabulary."

"Piss off."

"And a crude one at that."

Emma notices the tiniest of smirks spring across Regina's face before she is back to pacing back and forth across her kitchen.

"You know what, _Madame Mayor_…" Emma seethed, the title sounding like the gravest of insults. "You can't just come here and tell me that my…that Henry is dying and expect me to just stand here and take it. What do you want me to do? I've never even met the kid. I held him in my womb, yeah, sure, for nine months but I never even held him because I was afraid that if I did I wouldn't be able to let him go. And we both know I'm not eligible for raising a kid. So I'm glad that you got him, and that he is happy…" Emma's forehead creases, "…was happy. But what do you want me to do? Why did you come all of this way? Why couldn't you just let me pretend that he was **fine** and **happy** and had a puppy or some animal with a big backyard to play in? Why come here and tell me he's _dying_?"

Regina allowed Emma her rant, allowed her a breakdown. It was only fair. Regina had a similar breakdown, has had many similar breakdowns in the last three years. However, she cannot contain her indignation. Isn't it obvious why she has come? Hadn't she _**just**_ spelled it out for Miss Swan? She needs the blonde dunce to return to Storybrooke with her and be an organ donor to Henry.

"I've come here because, as much as it pains me to admit it, I cannot help him. I cannot make him better. I have raised him since he was six days old. Six days, Miss Swan, the earliest you are allowed to adopt a child. I've held him through _every_ illness, _every_ nightmare, been there for almost every first of his life, and I plan to be there to see the rest of them!" Regina's voice cracks and tears gather in her eyes. "He is ten years old. He is a ten year old boy that should be playing sports and bruising his knees falling off his bike. Instead he spends all his free time in the hospital and his only friends are the nurses and doctors that he sees every day!"

Emma's mouth is open but nothing escapes but a disgusting blend of sounds that did not make a legitimate word, it didn't even come close.

"He is only ten, Miss Swan. He has hardly lived his life. A life I am grateful for you to have given him by carrying through with the pregnancy, grateful because I have not known the joy I've felt while raising him anywhere else in my life." A wayward tear escaped Regina's eye without her knowledge of it. At least, that's what Emma thinks because she keeps talking, keeps explaining to her the depth of the situation while burying herself and Emma deeper and deeper still.

"But I cannot help him now. I cannot ease his pain. I was tested, I am not a match. The entire town has been tested. He is beloved by all! He is a very special boy. Wiser than his years and genuine…so very genuinely good. Young though he may be. He has a beautiful soul and the biggest heart I've ever seen!" Regina closed her cupped hands against her chest, her eyes pleading. "Complete strangers have offered to give him what he needs. Now I need you to offer the same. I need you to save him, Miss Swan, because I cannot live without him."

Emma is mesmerized by the woman in front of her and the pain that she is emanating just by standing where she is. Behind her through the windows rain blurs the image of the Boston skyline and lightning streaks across the sky. Besides the sound of their shared breathing and the tap of raindrops against the window, there is nothing. Nothing but silence as Regina finally stops talking and Emma stares openly in shock.

Regina must realize she is crying because she looks away and her hand moves up to her face and when she turns back there are no traces of her tears. "_Please…_" The desperation is back, except it's sharper and more deadly than it was the last two times.

Third time should be the charm, but Emma can't speak. She can't even move right now. She just stares and blinks and breathes because that's all she's capable of at the moment. "_**Please**_, Miss Swan."

Emma wants to clutch at her own chest; she wants to scream because this cannot be happening. She does not want to hear about the joy Regina has had while raising Henry. She does not want to see the anguish the woman feels over the possibility of losing him, of knowing she cannot help him. Emma just wants to go back to how her life has been, carefree and unburdened. She does not want the pressure of saving Henry's life on her shoulders, because what if she doesn't measure up? What if Regina is wrong? What if she isn't a match? What then?

What happens when she goes all the way to Maine, does this test that Regina wants her to do—because there is no way Regina just knows that she's a match, it's all just wishful thinking and there will have to be lots of tests and doctors and dozens of needles—and what if she does all that? What if she goes and does it and they find out that she can't save Henry? What then? To have gone all that way and done all of that, to have met her son, seen his face and heard his voice and gotten to know him only to lose him? No…

No, she couldn't do that.

What if she doesn't want to give up part of her liver or a kidney a lung—though she wonders if one could give up part of their lung—and make it so she can't do what she does for a living? She can't be a bounty hunter if she doesn't have a kidney or part of her lung. Hell she wouldn't be able to play soccer if she doesn't have a kidney—at least that's what her TV shows tell her. If she does this, if she saves the kids life, what life will she have?

That's the rub.

That's what stops her heart cold. She's more concerned about herself than she is about her biological child.

She wonders if that's normal. Should she instantly agree to go with Regina to Storybrooke, Maine? Strangers, Regina says, have offered to help Henry because he's such a good kid. And if she doesn't offer the same, what does that make her? A monster? The villain? She's never thought of herself as a hero but by no means has she ever thought of herself as a villain either.

And **still** there is a deeper level of thought that she finds herself delving into. What if she does save Henry? What if she goes to Maine, and gives the kid whatever body part he needs and her life is the same? And then…and then Regina doesn't want her to be around Henry? What if she has to leave? Emma's seen it happen before. Not to the extent of giving a body part and then getting the heave-ho, but it's the same concept isn't it? What if she measures up biologically only to fail socially? Could she go to Maine and sit down and talk with her son and learn his secrets and tell him some of her own, and then just leave because she did her part? Would Henry even want her to stay? What if he was angry at her for giving him up?

What if 'this'

Or

What if 'that'.

_What if…_

"I, I…" Emma can't speak, she can't think in consecutive thoughts. She needs to sit down. And damn it, she wants to stay standing just so she doesn't prove Regina right. The bitch had told her that they should sit, and she's too stubborn to admit that Regina was right.

"I know this is a lot to take in, I understand the shock of…"

"No you don't." Emma whispers her voice hoarse.

"Excuse me?"

"You don't understand the shock. You don't understand how much this is to take in…yeah, maybe learning the kid you're raising has cancer or something that's going to kill him is big. But he's your kid. He's yours, he's not mine. I gave him up, I broke all ties with him because I'm not what's best for him. Having this thrown on me is NOT something I ever expected!"

Regina's eyes darken, "I assure you that learning your son is dying and you can do nothing to stop it is more than whatever measly shock you're feeling right now, _Miss Swan." _If words could cut, Emma would be sliced down to the bone. "I certainly did not expect to bring my son to the doctors and have him diagnosed with stage three cancer! I did not appreciate that fate being thrown on my son, on myself. I did not expect to find that our saving grace was not a saving grace at all. We'd found a match! We didn't need you, because we had our miracle. But his body unexpectedly rejected it. No one had taken into consideration that he might have a rare immune system antibody. After all who thinks a cancer patient has an astounding immune system?" Regina laughed at the irony of it. "It caused a cellular immunity to develop and he rejected the transplant. His chemotherapy and the immunosuppressants could do nothing, but you can!" Regina challenged, going so far as to point a finger at Emma for emphasis.

"You _need_ to **stop saying that**!"

"I will not!" Regina yelled and stepped closer to Emma, once again toe to toe with the woman. "I will not stop saying it because you are. You are the _only_ one that can help us. His father is dead…"

Whatever color had been in Emma's cheeks fled as she became extremely pale. "H..how do you…" Emma swallowed feeling ill once again.

"I have my sources, Miss Swan." Seeing how pale Emma was becoming, Regina quickly moved to reassure the woman. "I am not here to judge your actions. I would even go so far as to say he deserved everything he got."

One day, Emma would have the strength to question who exactly those sources Regina spoke of were, but for now she was too relieved to know that Regina knew the darkest part of her past and yet still wanted her help. Regina even seemed to understand her actions, and thought her just. Well, her and three jurors then. The other nine were just assholes in comparison.

"I am here to help my son. I assure you that if there were any other option, any other way I would have much rather taken those routes. I have tried them already. I do not want to ask for help, Miss Swan. I have never wanted to ask for help and I haven't needed to in years. But I…I need it. I _need you_ to help Henry."

"I, I need time to think about this." Emma finally says her voice sounding like it usually does, when not emotionally bombarded. "I can't handle all of this right now. I need time. Okay? You want my help? You want me to do this? Then you need to leave me alone. Like, right the fuck now."

"I can't…"

"It wasn't a question." Emma insists, not willing to back down on this.

The resoluteness that was Regina Mills seemed to take a moment to consider her next move. Instead of fighting the issue and pushing the line back another five steps, she seems to accept that nothing more can be done tonight. Anything more and Emma will completely shut her down, and that cannot happen.

"Fine…" Regina sticks her hand into her pocket and pulls out a small black and white business card. "…my card. I am sorry to spring this on you, on your birthday." Regina states, her eyes looking from Emma back to the cupcake. "Do understand that I had no choice."

"Whatever…" Emma waves Regina off, her arm tight around her stomach. She notices Regina pull something else out of her jacket pocket and put it next to her card. "I'll call you." An age old promise that's left broken hearts scattered like leaves on the wind. Emma isn't quite sure if she's capable of putting Henry's heart or Regina's for that matter, atop that ever growing pile. She just needs time. That's all. She needs just a few minutes, a few moments, maybe a few hours to think all this through. To really sit down and buckle up and think long and hard about what this all means for her, what this is going to mean for Henry and Regina and all those strangers she's never met who seem so much better than her in comparison for offering up what she's hesitant to.

Emma doesn't watch Regina leave; she's staring out the window at the rain. It isn't until the door closes that she runs into the bathroom, the door slamming against the wall and swinging on its hinges as she dives for the toilet and loses what little was in her stomach.

What feels like hours later, Emma leans away from the porcelain, the seat down as she flushes it. Falling back on her haunches she just stares blankly at nothing. This day certainly hadn't ended like she'd hoped it would. No good movie on the television, no alcohol in her system, and no way that she would ever forget about her evening.

"Huh…Happy Birthday to me."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-. -.-.-

Closing the door behind her, Regina turns to look at the blue paint and imagines Emma standing exactly where she had been as she'd left with the simple addition of tears on her cheeks. Emma does not seem like the tears type, but Regina knows from her recent experience that situations like these change people.

Not always for the better.

Pulling her trench coat close to her she stalks down the hallway to the elevator. Jabbing her finger against the call button she waits for it. Her mind racing as she sees its slow progression through the slowly lighting up numbers above the doorway. She had promised herself she would be triumphant so there was a bitter taste in her mouth now as she stepped into the elevator without so much as a true promise from Miss Swan to call her. The elevator doors close and before she even realizes it she is at the lobby.

Tying the sash of her trench her heels echo through the empty foyer. Without an umbrella she decides to dash across the street once it is clear. Waiting under the overhead of the building she only has to wait several seconds before it is clear to run across the street and down the block to where her car is parked.

Above her, Regina imagines Emma's eyes tracking her, pitying her, and at the moment Regina would take it. If Emma pities her, pities the situation she and Henry are in she is more likely to do something to assist them.

Unlocking the car she slips in and turns the ignition. Turning on the windshield wipers she waits for her GPS to turn on. A GPS is apparently a must-buy according to frequent travelers' guide. She was honestly glad she purchased it. Mapping out a city as complex as Boston in comparison to Storybrooke? Ha, without it she would have been looking for Miss Swan's apartment building for days.

Typing in the address of her hotel Regina realizes she never should have made the reservation. It was a sign. One from Fate, telling her that she WOULD need the room because she WOULDN'T be returning to Storybrooke with Miss Swan immediately. Sighing, Regina closes her eyes and tries to regain some semblance of herself. She will not cry. She will not, not after doing so in that dastardly woman's apartment!

Running her hand through her wet hair Regina looks in her rearview mirror, swallows, and pulls out into non-existent traffic. She will wait until tomorrow afternoon before returning to visit Miss Swan. If the woman has not already called her at that time.

If the blonde refused to assist Henry, to assist her…Regina refuses to contemplate such a future at this time. Instead she prays that this world will allow for one miracle, just one. She will never ask for anything ever again after this. Once she has secured Henry's future, she will need nothing more. Nothing, she promises whoever may be listening. Hoping that someone is, because she needs all the help she can get, especially if Emma fucking Swan is supposed to be her saving grace, her and Henry's Savior.

**End Chapter One**

So, what do you think?


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Note: **Wow, thanks so much to everyone that has reviewed to this story. I think that is the most reviews I've gotten for one chapter of a story _**ever**_. So thank you! And thanks to everyone that has taken the time to read this story, favorite it and put it on their alert list. I hope that you'll ALL continue to enjoy the story. Feel free to drop me a PM if you feel like asking any questions or ask them in a review, I try to do my best to answer them all as they come.

**Author's Note 2**: I've done a bit of research on Henry's illness but I also want to make it clear that I am not a medical professional so don't quote me. The information I am putting in this story is from the research I've done and found on websites. There is also going to be a bit of fabrication for the story's purposes and you will see the reason why as the story continues. ;-D

Again, thanks to everyone that had read, favorited, put on alert and reviewed. Hope you'll continue to enjoy the story as it develops.

* * *

**Chapter 2  
**'_Sleep It Off'_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The hotel room was passable. Honestly, it was a dump. But a clean shabby dump in comparison to her home, like everything was in comparison. All she needed was a clean bed and bathroom. The bed was a twin and she worried she might fall off she was so unaccustomed to such a small sleeping arrangement. It would have to do. She was not staying in this room more than one night. By tomorrow she was going to be back in her own home with her son in her queen sized temper-pedic mattress. She was used to being swallowed by her bed. Now she was afraid the rug was going to swallow her when she fell off this one.

Careful she hung up her clothes in the small closet. It wasn't even a sixth of her closet at home. She had one dress bag to hang, her current outfit and her trench coat. She did not plan to stay here long. She had hoped to already be on her way home, but obviously that was not how it was meant to be. Sighing, she settled down onto the miniscule bed and without warning fell into a restless sleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-

"Damn it!" Regina cursed as she stood in front of Emma Swan's apartment door. Her knuckles were red raw from all the knocking she had been doing. She'd taken to banging on the door with her closed fist, so now from her pinky to her wrist was just as red. On both hands.

There was no answer. She'd been here for hours. Hours!

She knew she shouldn't have left last night. She should have insisted that Ms. Swan come with her then. She knew her history. She knew how Ms. Swan didn't stay in one place for very long. She knew how Ms. Swan had a tendency to disappear. She should have known better. She did know better but she had been angry, distraught, and just so bone wearily tired.

Everything in her life had been a fight. Everything since she was a girl she'd had one uphill battle to surpass after the other. This was just another one of those battles and she feared, for the first time, that she would not come out on top.

She'd lost before. She'd lost loved ones and friends and maybe even a bit of her sanity in the past but she'd always come out of each battle. She'd never perished in the fight. It might not be winning but she didn't consider it a full loss. She still had her life, her health, and her heart (which had been full of anger and hatred before). Now she was about to lose two of the three.

Henry was everything to her. He was her whole world now. He held her heart more than anyone had before. He'd given her a reason to try, to really try and be a better person. He'd brought such joy to her life, such happiness. If she lost him she might as well die. What would she have left? Her health…the one thing she wished she could give to Henry. Good health. Ha! Perhaps physically. Mentally she'd be as bad off as Jackson.

Dropping her forehead onto the blue door, Regina squeezed her eyes closed and banged on the door. Her arm was as heavy as her heart as she banged, banged, banged, banged. Nothing. Not even the sound of shuffling footsteps. The room behind the locked door was as silent as the calm in the eye of a storm.

"Please…" Regina begged, her voice hoarse from the shouting she'd done in the last four hours. She was only now beginning to realize just how hopeless all that shouting had been. Emma Swan was obviously not home and she'd already been asked twice by neighbors to get lost. She'd merely spared them a glance and they'd quickly vacated the hallway and turned up the music in their own apartments.

No one, it seemed even here, could withstand the angry haunted look that promised the cruelest of tortures if they did not leave her sight. A lot of good her perfected minion glare did her now.

"Please…" Regina whispered her shoulders shaking as she fell to her knees her arm dragging down the door with her. She banged her forehead against the metal again before wrapping both her arms around herself.

She was helpless to stop the tears as they fell continuously down her cheeks. Her last hope, Henry's last hope, was nowhere to be found and it was because of her. Henry was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it. She had nothing more to give. She'd done everything, even made another deal with Mr. Gold and just like it always had been…it wasn't enough.

Screaming against the ache in her chest, Regina dropped her chin onto her chest and cried. She released all the pain and frustration she had felt for the last few years. How ironic it was that she finally broke here. Kneeling in the middle of a foreign public hallway in Boston while staring and leaning against the door that might as well be the brick wall that'd she'd faced her entire life. This time, like all the others, she found herself lacking and could not vault herself over it. Did she have energy to climb up it? Ha, she didn't even have energy left to lift her arm to knock on the door again.

Calming herself, Regina leaned away from the door and rolled her shoulders. This…pathetic show of emotion would not do. She was better than this. She was Regina Antoinette Mills. She was not a woman to toil with. She was and would be Emma Swan's greatest nightmare. Ms. Swan thought she could run? There was not a rock that Regina would not have upturned to hide the rat Ms. Swan was.

After she left this building she would call Sydney Glass and Mr. Gold. They would need to find Ms. Swan. No matter what it took, she would get that cursed woman to Storybrooke. She was not going to ask again. She would hire private contractors to bring her the woman alive. If Ms. Swan wanted to run, then Regina would chase her.

"To the ends of the earth…" Regina promised as she stood up. She brushed off her pants, wiped at her eyes and fixed her makeup. She gave the thick door one last scathing look before she turned on her heels and left. There was work to be done and a blonde woman to find and drag kicking and screaming to Storybrooke.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Emma was having little success in finding a comfortable position. She'd spent the last two hours tossing and turning in her bed. She'd smacked her pillow enough that if it were sentient it would probably be dead.

Her couch was looking better and better as the minutes continued to tick by. Her mind was restless, and honestly? That didn't happen very often. Usually she could shut her mind off and rest like a baby. But that was the problem. She had a baby in mind. Not just any baby, but her baby, her son, Henry.

He now had a name and a face. That bitchy Madame Mayor whatever-her-last-name-was had decided to leave not only her number but a picture on her counter. Henry was a cute kid. He looked like, well, he looked like the perfect mix of his father and her. He had his father's nose and the shape of his eyes but everything else was hers. He even had her colored eyes. She stared at the picture for what felt like an eternity before she'd thrown it away from her and finished off the three beers she'd had in the fridge. The one time she didn't have enough alcohol to numb the pain she felt in her chest was the one time she needed it most.

Emma growled into the darkness of her room. The shadows around the walls looked like monsters ready to swallow her whole the moment she closed her eyes. They hadn't scared her this terribly for years. She'd watched that movie with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore where after someone died the shadows would come to life, moaning and groaning before they attacked you and took your soul to hell. Emma had been six or seven at the time. She had been afraid to turn off the lights for weeks when she went to sleep afraid the shadows would think she was dead. She was a heavy sleeper, even their moaning and groaning wouldn't wake her up if the screaming of her then foster parents didn't wake her up.

Her need for the light to be on hadn't gone over well with her foster parents at the time. They let her keep it on though after the first time they'd turned it off on her and she'd woken up screaming crying. They didn't want a crying six year old in their bed at one in the morning any more than she wanted to be a six year old crying because she was afraid of the dark without someone to comfort her. Their biological son tortured her for being afraid of the dark for the next year she was with them.

Emma hadn't known the difference between hell and heaven at the time. She was too young to really understand. She knew the difference between good and evil and could put faces of fairytale characters and cartoon characters in each category. She'd never known where to put herself. Not when Tommy, the foster couple's biological son, told her that she was going to go to hell because she was a bastard. Emma had believed him, she was six, she didn't know any better. He was fourteen and she adored him, even as she feared him.

Now she wondered if he wasn't right. Maybe she wasn't going to go to heaven. Not after all she'd done in her life. But now? After turning the Mayor away, thinking about herself rather than her own child? She knew, without a doubt, that she was no hero, no good guy. She had her faults but she never thought they went as deep as they apparently did.

Emma knew she was no innocent young damsel in distress. Maybe as a child she could have been considered innocent and a damsel, but as the years passed and she grew older she became what she needed to be to survive. It was hard sometimes to think about what she might have been if things were different. She tried not to think of the what if's of the past. She had too many what if's of the future to worry about. At least those ones she had a chance of changing. There was nothing she could do about her past there was only the here and now and what could be done presently.

So, where was she? She was here, the biological mother of a ten year old boy who needed her more than he'd possibly ever needed her in his whole life…and she was what? Going to turn the other way? Walk away? Run? Like she did with everything else? This was where she needed to draw the line. She needed to do the right thing here. She hadn't had a choice—not a real one—in the past, but now she had one. She'd done what she thought was best for the kid ten years ago. She'd given him up so that he'd have his best shot because that wasn't with her. She was an eighteen year old kid just getting out of juvie and the foster care system.

She didn't want him to go into that system but she couldn't let him stay with her. She'd ruin him, and there was a better chance of him being adopted as an infant without ties to her than if she kept him, struggled with him, and then had to give him up when he was older. Older kids rarely got out of the system she knew from experience. She wanted him to have a chance. She wanted him to have more than she ever had and more than she could ever give him.

He got that, or at least it seemed like he did. He'd found where he was meant to be. His mother, his real mother, had come all this way to beg for her to help him. She had some brass ones to do that. Especially since the Mayor knew about her history. Not everyone would come knocking on her door knowing the crimes she'd committed but Regina had. Regina had come knocking on her door ready to drag her from her own apartment kicking and screaming—of that Emma is sure.

Good. Henry deserved that kind of love and devotion and care. He deserved Regina, Mayor—what was her last name? Something with an M…Emma shook her head as it went through the possible last names. Myers, Michaels, Miller, oh oh! Mills! Mayor Mills!

What Henry didn't deserve was the lot in life he'd been dealt. He didn't deserve to be in the hospital as much as the Mayor said he was. No kid deserved to go through everything he was probably going through. What was it that she could really do for him anyway? He didn't need her in his life. He had Regina—even if she was kind of scary—she was scary because she was scared she was going to lose her son.

She wouldn't. Emma didn't know how that'd happen but she knew that Mayor Mills would not lose her son. Emma just, well she couldn't be the one to save him. She was no savior. She was no ones last hope, only hope. She couldn't be. She wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility. She honestly wasn't ready for that much heartbreak. She'd want more. She'd wanted more of the kid after he'd been born. She'd wanted nothing more than to keep him with her and hold on to him forever. But she pushed him away. She gave him up. She didn't keep him.

She didn't keep him because she was doing what was best for him. Now she was going to do what was best for _her_. She was going to stay away from him.

Beyond the door of her bedroom and the walls of the apartment building the rain storm continued to rage, the wind howling as it swept through the breaks between the buildings. Lighting flashed, thunder crashed, and the night wore away to morning. Morning became afternoon and before Emma could understand where all the time had gone there was knocking at her door.

The phone had been ringing, she was sure of it, but she didn't even bother to pick it up. She let the machine pick it up as she curled into her blankets and hid under her pillow. The shadows were gone, leaving a constant stream of gray light coming from the window and from under the crack of her door. Her eyes were tinged red from all the staring she'd done through the night, and possibly crying, she couldn't really recall that much. Her eyes stood out deftly against the dark circles that rounded out her eyes.

She didn't even think she'd gotten any sleep. She hadn't even closed her eyes in what felt like years they were so sore and itchy. She blinked and it felt like there was a gallon of sand stuck between her eyelids and her eyes.

Hissing Emma kept her eyes closed even as they burned. If she kept them closed she could pretend to be asleep and if she was asleep she wouldn't hear the calls of Mayor Regina Mills of Storybrooke Maine mother to her dying kid standing outside her apartment knocking on her door. She could pretend that last night was nothing but a horrid dream—or maybe a lucid daydream, or would it be night-dream since she'd had it during the evening?

Breathing in the scent of her own pillows Emma remained hidden under her pillows. The air grew warm and stale and she wondered if she could just suffocate herself to death. Then whatever organ Henry needed could be his because she wouldn't need any of them anymore.

The banging at the door didn't go away for an two and a half hours. There was screaming and shouting in the mix too but that was fleeting and only lasted as long as it took one of her neighbors to come tell Regina to shut up.

Emma was afraid to move out of bed and honestly? She felt like the shittiest person alive. She had no reason to get out of bed, so she stayed until the sun went down and the rain began again but this time it was softer, just like a spring shower rather than a full on thunder storm.

There wasn't any disappointment placed on her shoulders here, not in her bed, her place, her sanctuary. There wouldn't be any further thought of Henry or his mother or what his voice sounded like or what his favorite color was. He wasn't her responsibility. Not anymore. The only person she had to worry about was herself. She didn't deal with things like this. She ran from them. And as soon as she could convince herself to get out of bed she would be gone.

No one would find her. Not even Mayor Regina Mills with her sad desperate eyes, Prada clothing, her nice shoes, phone number and picture of a smiling handsome dirty blonde ten year old boy who needed her.

"Damn it!" Emma growled as she threw her blankets off of her. In her aggravation she cleared off her bed of all the pillows, sheets and even had thrown her bedside lamp against the wall. The metal base of the lamp hit the wall and left an indentation. Looking up from where she'd sat on the edge of the bed her hands nearly ready to tear at her own hair, she saw the mark and stared.

She stared and stared and stared before she fell onto her side and stared some more.

There went her security deposit.

Laughing, choked at first but then a full on belly laugh, she laughed and laughed. Before she knew what she was doing she had a duffle bag with most of her stuff in it, her hand-gun included. She was looking for her car keys and having a bit of trouble finding them in the dark. Outside the sun had long since set and she was getting a late start of running, but she couldn't stay here anymore.

Not anymore.

Seeing her keys by the coffee pot, where she must have left them two days ago, she walked around the counter and stopped. Her hand came away with a piece of paper stuck to her sweaty palm. Looking down at the number she sighed, stuck it in her pocket before moving to grab her keys. Seeing the picture of Henry on the floor she smiled, picked it up in the same downward bend as she did her duffle bag and left her apartment.

Throwing her stuff into the back seat of her yellow bug she started the engine and peeled away from the curb, heading north.

Emma only realized a half an hour into her trip that she had no idea how in the hell to get to _Storybrooke_ freaking _**Maine**_.

**End Chapter Two**

Like it? Hate it? Think I should work on something? Let me know! :-D


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Note: **Thanks to everyone who has favorited, put this story on alert and special thanks to those who have reviewed. It's always great to see what you liked and didn't like about the chapter. Helps me write a better story. I'm all for input on your end and I've heard you on the subject of Emma's personality. I promise I have.

I understand that Emma is a bitch. I wrote her like this on purpose. ;-D Because honestly? I think this is how she would react if this is what happened to her on her birthday. She isn't the same woman that we just watched in the season finale. She has no connections to anyone in Storybrooke no connection to Henry or Mary Margaret or any friends to lean on or turn to. She is the same hyper vigilant, runner that she was in the beginning of the show who has a witty sarcastic tude. Which, honestly? I love to see pop up. She will change. Just like she did in the show. It'll just take time.

Until then however I think you'll enjoy her tude as much as I do. ;-) Because with her tude and Regina's? Those two are going to be at each other's throats ALL the time, something I really don't mind watching or reading. Hope you don't either.

Anyway, thanks again for all the feedback on the story and the interest in it. Enjoy this chapter—as much as you can. Warning: it is (a tad bit) sad/devastating.

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**Chapter Three  
**'_Nightmares of the Past'_

Regina pulled her black Mercedes into the driveway. The roads had been slick but the farther north she had driven the farther she had gotten from the rain. It seemed the storm that had passed through Boston had also taken a spill here. There were puddles still formed in the streets and the sidewalks were a light black rather than their usual dull gray.

Sighing as she cut the engine off, Regina looked at the time. It was nearing six o'clock. Henry should just be finishing up with his session with Archie. No doubt Graham was inside somewhere, probably the kitchen, with Kathryn. The three had formed a rather unexpected friendship through these hard times with Henry.

Graham had always been of interest to Regina but as Henry had progressively gotten worse before he'd begun to get better her focus had turned to him. Henry had become the only man in her life that she had much time for. The dalliance that she and the Sherriff had been holding for as long as she could remember had ended. It was only after it had ended that their friendship had grown to consist of more than their business meetings and evenings spent at his room at the Inn.

Regina did not have many friends in the past. Her past was littered with the bodies of the people she'd once considered friends and many of them had died at her own hand. Her longest living friend, the last time they had seen each other, they had almost killed each other. So to find a true friend who was willing to put up with her mood swings and her cancelled plans and even come over with a bottle of wine after a long day was startling.

Kathryn had been more of a surprise than her friendship with Graham. Kathryn was a certified teacher and Registered Nurse. Regina had hired her as soon as she had read her resume. Kathryn home schooled Henry and was their resident home care nurse for Henry. She'd hired Kathryn when she realized it would be to his benefit to stay away from the germs found at a public school or any school with a large populace of children. At least here at home she could control as much as possible.

It was comforting as well to have him home and away from the kids that would pick on him.

Thinking on her friendship with Graham and Kathryn she felt almost justified in her assumption that no matter what the three of them put their minds to they could accomplish. They were certainly a force to be reckoned with. Regina with her power over the very town itself, Graham with his influence, and Kathryn with her intellect and charm, they were a trio made of the best and worst kind. It was exactly what Regina needed to survive the last two years. The strength that she could pull from Graham and Kathryn had kept her sane, conscious, and strong through the worst of Henry's illness.

She hoped that tonight they would be able to help pull her heart out from the gutter where she'd left it laying useless and dead back in Boston.

Taking a deep breath Regina steeled herself, checked how she looked in the mirror one last time, and stepped out of the car before making her way into her own house. She rubbed hand sanitizer into her hands and kicked off her shoes, opened the closet door with her elbow and pushed her shoes inside and hung up her jacket before she moved any further into the house. As she was just walking up from the stairs into the main foyer of the house her cellphone rang. Opening it at the sight of Mr. Gold's name flashing she turned back around and walked back down the stairs to give herself some privacy. Kathryn and Graham would be upon her soon having heard the door open and close without Archie having said goodbye. They'd be worried.

Regina expected Graham to come around the corner in five seconds with his weapon drawn and facing the ground. She knew him well. Well enough to only wave after five seconds had passed to greet him. The sigh echoed as he left her alone to her call and called out to Kathryn, "Just Regina…Ryn"

They would bombard her with questions the second she closed her phone. She knew they would, so she knew to make this conversation quick.

"What do you mean you can't find her?" Regina hissed.

"It means that I have been unable to locate the approximate location of Ms. Swan." Mr. Gold explained, as he moved around his own shop moving the phone from one counter top to the next as he moved and looked around in his belongings.

"I don't think you understand what this means—"

"No, deary, I know perfectly well what it means if I cannot find Ms. Swan. So don't get your knickers in a twist, I shall find her before the end of your work day tomorrow."

"You sound so sure of yourself,"

"And you sound so unsure of _yourself_. You know what our deal is," Yes, Regina knew well what their deal was. She'd made it in her greatest time of need and wondered, not for the first time, if she hadn't made a mistake. "Do tell Henry I said hello, _please_." The line went dead and Regina growled as she turned on her heels and walked through the house.

She wouldn't be calm until she knew for certain that Mr. Gold was not simply playing with her. It wouldn't be the first time. This time however it was too important not to enlist the imp of a man's help. He was the only one that she could turn to help her find Henry's mother. He had, after all, found Henry ten years ago.

Regina looked up and saw Dr. Hopper surprised to see him for a moment.

Archie paled as she met his eyes. She couldn't even muster a proper hello. With her hands fisted at her sides she walked right passed Archie, "Good night Doctor, do see yourself out." Any other pleasantries were forgone as she made her way towards the living room doors.

Normally she would inquire how the session had gone and how Henry was really doing as the boy hardly ever told her the truth these days. He didn't want to upset her or make her feel any worse than she already did for being unable to help him. So he often kept quiet about his ills and pains. It was why she'd hired Archie. Henry needed someone he could talk to that was safe. He also needed someone he could talk to about the anger he felt towards the world and oftentimes her for what was happening to him. Archie and Henry would officially be seeing the other in therapy for two years come next month and the improvement was phenomenal. Phenomenal enough that Regina paid Archie an outrageous salary.

Standing before the closed living room doors for a moment to calm herself down, Regina shook out her hands and forced her fingers to uncurl from their fists. Satisfied that she didn't look as if she was going to murder someone, she opened the sliding doors into the living room and stepped inside.

Henry was lying on the couch, an IV pole behind him attached to his arm as he held tightly onto the stuffed bear that she had gotten him when he was two years old. He didn't sleep well without Mr. Brownie. He hadn't since Regina had gotten him the bear. Mr. Brownie was the formally deep brown bear's name. Now he was more of a soft sandy color. Mr. Brownie was like a third member of the family that couldn't ever be forgotten. It was Mr. Brownie that Henry held onto as he went through chemotherapy with one arm as he held onto her hand with the other. It was Mr. Brownie that Henry woke up to after each test, biopsy, transfusion, and the transplant, with her sitting beside the bed as well of course. The stuffed animal offered Henry comfort that sometimes Regina could not.

Feeling the familiar burn of tears she fought them off like she had learned to do years ago, and stepped around the armchair facing the couch. Henry was fast asleep, the TV flickering as ads popped up and the screen displayed the name of the composer of the soft classical music playing through the speakers. Classical music, she'd played it to help Henry fall asleep as an infant and even though he loathed admitting it to his few friends while he was younger. In his bedroom Henry had a burned CD of his favorite composers' music. The CD played on repeat all through the night as he slept. Regina had her own copy of the CD in her bedroom and played it as well. The third copy stayed in the small CD player that the hospital allowed into Henry's room while he was staying overnight. They couldn't bring in iPods or iPhones so Regina resorted to CD's and a player to let Henry have at least that small comfort.

"Hello honey," Regina whispered softly, sitting on the coffee table directly across from the couch she leaned over and kissed Henry's forehead as she brushed his hair back away from his face. He stirred a bit but didn't wake up. He looked so peaceful in his sleep, so calm and safe and handsome. He looked like any normal kid sleeping on his couch after a long day at school. Except he hadn't gone to public school for two years and it was probably his visit to the doctors this afternoon that had tired him out. Not to mention the fact that there was an IV attached to his arm giving him fluids he needed to stay healthy.

Kissing his forehead again Regina breathed in his scent before leaning back. She stared at his face for a few minutes. She'd never left him for such a long time before. She'd been gone for two days. The longest Henry had been away from her where she couldn't physically see him was a sleepover he'd had. Before that it had only been hours that had separated them, not days and hundreds of miles.

"He's been good these last two days, curious as to where you went, but good. He was able to keep down his breakfast and dinner today. Lunch made him feel a bit sick."

Regina nodded at the news, swallowing as she kept her eyes on Henry's slowly rising and falling chest. "He…" she cleared her throat, "…he usually has more trouble during the afternoon because of the…"

"…medication." The two women said together. Regina turned away from Henry and looked to the woman standing in the doorway.

It took only a moment before her bottom lip began to quiver and her hand shot up to cover her mouth and nose as she sucked in a shallow breath. Her heart raced against her chest as everything just seemed to fall into place. She had promised herself two days ago that she would not return home without Ms. Emma Swan and here she sat in her living room with her dying son and her best friend and Ms. Swan was nowhere to be found.

Her son's last hope was nowhere to be found and it was all her fault! She'd pushed too hard. Insisted too fiercely, she'd driven Ms. Swan away and now it was not her that would suffer but Henry. "It's my fault…Ryn it's all my fault. I failed, I failed him."

Even as she sobbed, no tears fell from her eyes as she rested her head on Kathryn's shoulder. Kathryn led her out of the living room so she would not wake Henry. Graham closed the door behind the two women, his eyes on Henry until the door blocked his view.

On the couch the 'sleeping boy' opened his eyes at the click of the door and stared sadly down at Mr. Brownie. He squeezed the bear tighter against his chest and wished, not for the first time, that his mother would no longer feel such pain because of him.

-.-.-

Kathryn stood outside of Regina's bedroom door watching as Graham deposited the sleeping woman into her own bed. Henry was lying on the other side of the bed and Graham was careful not to wake either of the sleeping Mills. Turning off the light Graham stepped out into the hallway with her. She closed the door, leaving it open a crack just in case. "Sweet dreams…" She whispered into the quiet room.

She slept in the guest room—that might as well be her own room now that she'd stayed over so often in the last two years. Graham had work to go do so she'd stay the night. Usually one or the other would stay here at least twice a week, usually on nights before or after Henry had a doctor's appointment or one test or another. Graham had to work tonight, like he did most nights. He'd taken as much time away from the job as he could so he could be here for dinner and to see how things had gone with Regina's trip.

Neither of them had needed to hear how badly it had gone when Graham had come back into the kitchen to tell Kathryn that Regina had come home alone. Kathryn hoped as she walked Graham to the door and kissed him goodbye, that the valium Regina had taken would keep her dreams sweet. She'd need the rest. Tomorrow they all had a lot to talk about and a lot of things to figure out.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- **Months Prior** -.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Dr. Ronald McCarthy had come into their little township and had brought with him an allusive feeling of hope. Hope for the future. The same hope that had been lacking for the last five months since the word terminal had first been spoken by Dr. Whale.

Regina did not like the slumped shoulders. She did not like how Dr. McCarthy could hardly meet her eyes as he made his way slowly down the hallway towards her, towards all those waiting for his diagnosis. His findings.

They had all been hopeful. There had been optimism in the Storybrooke residents in the last two days thanks to the hope Dr. McCarthy offered.

_Terminal _

It had been like being hit with a blunt force object to the head. It had knocked Regina clear off her feet and right into Graham's waiting arms. There was nothing more they could do. They were sorry. The tests showed that it couldn't be stopped. Unless they could find a match there was very little they could do.

Dr. Whale broke the news to the all-powerful Mayor that there was nothing she could do when it mattered most. Regina Mills was a formidable woman. She could be your worst enemy if you wronged her. So she knew that Dr. Whale did not speak lightly when he told her that Henry was coming out of remission and that wasn't the worst part of his bad news. The chemotherapy wasn't working. The disease was spreading. It would cause multiple organ failure within the next four months. He was sorry but the disease was fatal. Fatal, meaning death was eminent and there was nothing she could do. There was no cure. There was nothing left that hadn't already been done.

_Terminal _

The illness, the silly little illness that had begun as nothing more than a fever and a bad case of the stomach flu was _**terminal.**_

Regina wasn't known for taking anything while lying down. So she'd made calls. Hundreds of calls, logged in even more hours of research looking for the best. Only the best would do because only the best would consider looking at a 'terminal' case. Five days after the word terminal had been spoken Regina had welcomed a second opinion. They too spoke the hitherto forbidden word.

So she sought after a third opinion. Then a fourth. Dr. McCarthy was her fifth opinion and Regina did not know if she could handle hearing the forbidden word spoken from his lips.

_This is it. Now or never,_ Regina thought as Dr. McCarthy came closer.

Regina took a deep breath, standing from her seat on unsteady legs. Beside her Kathryn stood as well. Her friend placed a hand gently on her back, a welcome show of support. In the corner of the waiting room sat Mary Margaret. The church-mouse-esque woman had her hands clasped tightly in her lap. They were nearly as white knuckled as Regina's. The teacher's eyes were locked on Regina and the approaching doctor. Everyone's were. Everyone was waiting. Watching, wondering, _hoping…_

Where was Graham? Regina thought a bit panicked as she realized he was nowhere to be seen. He had gone to get them all some coffee, but that had been ten minutes ago. What was taking him so long? Where was he when she needed him most? That was it. If he decided coffee was more important than being here with her while she learned the fate of her son she would find a new Sheriff. Maybe Sidney would do. The man certainly had helped, had put in more hours than anyone else (except Regina) in finding another option, another doctor, another treatment plan, just another anything. Anything but looking at hospices, and funeral homes, and coffins and, just, well _anything else_.

Everyone's breath held tightly in their chest as they waited, even as they all knew, just by looking at Dr. McCarthy, that his words would not be the ones they wanted to hear.

"I'm sorry…" Something akin to a broken sob escaped Regina's lips as she nearly fell back into the chair she'd just risen from.

Graham had just stepped back into the waiting room with a thick paper holder with four steaming cups of coffee just like the ladies liked them. The sight he saw made his fingers lose their grasp on the holder, the coffee spraying everywhere even as he jumped over the mess and ran into the waiting room, catching Regina in her near swan dive into the hard tile floor.

"Woah…" He held Regina tight, helping keep up on her feet even if her legs begged her to sit and remain off of them.

She couldn't. Regina swallowed the bile that rose. She felt dizzy, as if the world had just upturned on its axis.

No…no, this could not be.

"Surely there is something that can be done?" Regina begged, her eyes glazed with tears that would not fall.

Dr. McCarthy shook his head sadly in answer.

"This can't be all there is!" Regina nearly screamed. She never raised her voice, never. Not in all the years that anyone had known her had she raised her voice this loudly before. "You, you, you're the best oncologist in the country! You cannot tell me that there is nothing else that can be done!"

"Mayor Mills I am truly sorry…but there is nothing _I_ can do." His emphasis was lost to Regina. What did he expect her to do if he could do nothing? Hadn't she already found him? Found another option?

"You're sorry! You're SORRY!" Regina lurched forward ready to punch the man. However Graham's deft grip on her kept her exactly where she was. "You arrogant self-righteous bastard! You were supposed to be the best. Surely the best can figure something _else_ that can be done."

"Mayor Mills I understand that this is difficult…"

"No, no, do not tell me that you understand. You don't understand. No one here can understand! No one!" Well, maybe Mary Margaret could, if she could remember actually having a daughter to lose, "You, you can't just tell me there is nothing that can be done." Regina swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked into Dr. McCarthy's eyes. "There has to be something else. Something more! You did all the tests that these idiots have done! You're the highly recommended specialist. You should have found something others missed!"

"I'm sorry Mayor Mills, but sometimes there is nothing else to find. Nothing else that can be done. Sometimes things like this can't be fixed. I'm sorry, I truly am. Henry seems like a wonderful boy. But it might be time that you start considering what is best for Henry. More invasive tests are only going to prolong his pain."

"No, no…" Regina shook her head violently from side to side before glaring at the elderly gentlemen in his white lab coat. His visitor badge mocked Regina now that he had come and done nothing, given her nothing more than the doctors here had given her. Insincere condolences and the same diagnosis that condemned Regina every time it was given. Over and over and over again.

"Regina…" Turning her head sharply Regina met Mary Margaret's eyes. The young woman had, at some point, stood from her seat in the corner and had moved to stand within the small circle that had gathered. Mary Margaret was not as skilled as Regina however, and Regina took great pleasure in that small fact, because Mary Margaret's cheeks were wet with tears at the news. Regina's tears hadn't fallen. She refused to let them fall. She had to be strong. Even in the face of such travesty.

"No…" Regina whispered. Her chin quivered as she held the caring eyes of Storybrooke's beloved Princess—even here—_Saint _Mary Margaret Blanchard. She was still the same caring and kind woman who had given so much and asked for nothing in return. Regina snapped her eyes back to Dr. McCarthy, unable to stare into Mary's eyes any longer. They would break her.

Mary Margaret Blanchard would break her and Regina would be damned if that happened.

She would raise hell and high water upon this earth before she let some doctor tell her that she was helpless, again. That there was nothing she could do. Again! There had to be _something_. She was Regina Mills! The Evil Fucking Queen for goodness sake! No one told Regina that she _couldn't_ do something! No one told her she could not have what she wanted. And by god she wanted a cure, she wanted there to be something the doctors could do.

So, she would get it. Even if it was the last thing she did. Henry was not going to die. There would be no need to look into 'alternative measures' and think of Henry's pain. He would not be in pain anymore, not when she found a cure. Even if that meant she had to invent one herself. Or make a _**deal**_ to ensure one.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Regina took a seat as Dr. Whale finished up a phone call with someone or other. Regina didn't care. Regina had one purpose in life and at the moment the only reason she hadn't made Dr. Whale hang up the phone was because she didn't know if it pertained to Henry's case. It had been three weeks since Dr. McCarthy had left—been driven out—of Storybrooke. Two weeks since Regina had made a deal she would never regret for as long as she lived—she was sure of it.

Regina had refused to pay Dr. McCarthy for his work. He had promised to sue, but had quickly changed his mind when Graham and half the town seemed willing to string him up at the merest inclination of Regina's head. This town was hardly news worthy but it was notoriously known to support their fellow neighbor. Given that they deserved the help of course, and for once, it seemed that Regina did—if only because by helping her the town helped Henry. It was a win-win.

Last week there had been a Donor's Fest, as they'd called it. Half of the town had shown up to support Henry as he was the only member of the large community with cancer. Of half the town a fifth of those that arrived had their blood tested to see if they were a match for the beloved Prince of Storybrooke.

Regina had paid mostly out of pocket with the help of the hospital. They had it in the open parking lot outside the west end of town hall. It was large enough to hold the fair. They had candy, baked goods, games and information booths spread out throughout the area. They had over sixty volunteers to help hold the festivities. For each family it had cost $30 to get in. The money would be used to pay off the expenses and then donate the excess to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Regina was affluent, and could easily keep up a lavish lifestyle even with all the money she was spending on Henry's treatments, so half of the refund she had gained back from the fest she donated to **Make** **a Wish Foundation**. A charity, like many others, that Regina only became aware of because of Henry's diagnosis. Her life really had been very small in comparison to what it had become since they found the first cancerous tumor in Henry's liver.

"We've found a match." Dr. Whale's voice broke through her recount of last week's fest.

"_**A**_ match?" Regina asked, ecstatic as she stood in Dr. Whale's office.

Henry was back in his room at the hospital with Granny and Ruby. The two Wolfs' had arrived as a surprise and brought with them gifts. The Gifts were in the form of Henry's favorite soup now that he was going through chemotherapy again, chicken broth and rice soup and an oatmeal raisin cookie, both fresh from Granny's Coffee Shop were his favorites. They were usually all he could keep down.

With extensive chemotherapy and two surgeries, Henry had been in remission for nearly a year before another tumor presented itself. It was this past Memorial Day that they decided it was time to look into donors now that the tumor had been removed and the doctors talked about upping his chances should he be put onto a donor list.

Unfortunately because of his remission he wasn't even close to the top of the list because his risk factors of living even after the transplant were low. He was a high risk transplant candidate so if they had a chance at a transplant it had to be offered to him specifically from a match they—Dr. Whale and Regina—found.

Out of the thousand people who had attended the gathering—truly touching Regina deeply—a hundred and fifty people donated blood. Out of those hundred and fifty, there had been two dozen with similar blood type matches. Of those two dozen six were possible candidates for a transplant with further testing. Of those six one had been found as the best option after their medical histories had been evaluated, their livers anatomical size. Then there had been the social and psychological screening done of the six and apparently, one was Regina's lucky number.

One single match. With that one match one single flame of hope had literally grown into an electric torch for Regina in the last five seconds. One was all they needed. Just one, that was what Dr. Whale had said, and now they had that one.

"Who is it?" Regina asked impatiently.

Dr. Whale looked down at the sheet in front of him, the number and name of the individual on top bolded. The stark black thick print stood out against the rest of the smaller thin print that Regina would probably be unable to understand in-depth.

"Well…its good news in the case of they'll actually go through with it." Dr. Whale seg-wayed, knowing that Regina's reaction was going to be conflicted. She would never ask this woman for help, Regina would rather die than owe anything to her, and yet now Regina would owe the life of her only son.

Regina's lips thinned, "Who—is—it—?" She pronounced thickly as she looked at Connor.

"Ms. Blanchard."

Regina's eyes widened as she leaned back against the chair heavily. Her heart rose into her throat as she stared unblinkingly at Connor. Sure that she had stepped into the twilight zone. Surely he hadn't just said that the only match found in all of those who'd been tested was the one woman with whom Regina could not turn to. Would not turn to and yet, had no choice.

The irony of it all! To do everything in her power to ruin the preachy little goody two shoes. And now? To have everything on the line with only one ray of hope shinning from Regina's nemesis. Biting into her bottom lip she sucked in a deep breath and tried to remain calm. She truly did.

"Mary Margaret BLANCHARD!" Regina raised her voice, her face red as she gripped the arms of the chair till her knuckles went white.

Connor flinched as he pushed his chair back, even farther away from his desk, glad that at least that piece of furniture was between them.

He waited, silently, as Regina calmed down. After fifteen minutes, she finally looked up and met his eyes. "Have you informed her yet?"

"No. I thought it prudent to talk with you first. Just in case."

"Just in case she decides, what? Not to do it? Blackmails me? Holds this over my head for the rest of my life?" Regina laughed bitterly, "That woman has been adamant about how unfit I am as a mother, now she can hold it against me that in my son's time of need I can't even offer him what he needs most, but _**she**_ can." Stewing in her loathing for Ms. Blanchard, Regina rang her hands together as they sat in her lap.

What choice did she have any more on the matter? Henry needed this transplant and if Mary Margaret was willing to be bed ridden for at least three weeks, a week or two in the hospital at minimum, Regina would accept her generosity with a grain of salt. She would kiss the woman's feet if she agreed to this transplant. She realized she was _that_ desperate. Which she had realized when Mr. Gold had taken the opportunity to make a deal with her, the slimy bastard that he is.

Sitting up straight, composed once again, Regina looked to Dr. Whale. "Shall we do this then, doctor?"

Connor fumbled as he reached for his phone, "Yes, of course. Just wait one moment, and…" He dialed Mary Margaret's number. The woman was not home, as she would not be this time of day, she was a teacher after all. Thankfully summer break was just around the corner, that would give the teacher plenty of time to recover, if all went well, and she had plenty of people willing to help her should she go through with this transplant which was why she was the best match. She would have the time to recover and not worry about losing her job and had a half dozen people willing to help her during the recovery—himself included.

The phone rang and rang and like he expected she did not pick up. He left a brief message asking her to call him and when he hung up he was surprised to see Regina standing up and picking up her bag. It wasn't until she was at the door that he realized she expected him to follow her. "Aren't you coming, Doctor?"

"Uh, uhhmm…" He fumbled with his things, grabbed the folder with Mary Margaret's results and then his keys, before stumbling out the door with Regina after locking up his office.

The drive to Storybrooke Elementary School was a short one. Regina wondered why Connor looked so pale as he stepped out of the car. It wasn't as if she had broken too many traffic laws. She had only been twenty five miles above the speed limit at all times, not wanting to hurt anyone unneededly. It wouldn't do to be too irresponsible. She was the Mayor after all.

Walking down once familiar halls, Regina found Mary Margaret's classroom easily enough. The children were just collecting their things and Mary Margaret was calling out through the classroom, wishing them all a wonderful day and she'd see them tomorrow. Hmm, Regina looked at her watch, it seemed class was finished and school was finally over.

Wonderful, now Regina wouldn't have to worry about the children stealing away half of Mary Margaret's attention.

"Mayor Mills…" Mary gasped as she saw Regina and Dr. Whale. "Connor…"

Regina raised a brow, wondering when Connor and Mary Margaret had become close enough to be on a first name basis. No worries however, she simply stepped into the room, careful of the children running out of the room around and about her.

"…to what do I owe this visit?" Mary Margaret asked as she fiddled with some papers on her desk, her smile never faltering as she looked between the Mayor and Doctor. Regina noticed that her hands were shaking and apparently clammy since she wiped them off on her skirt several times. _She knows…_Regina thought with a grim smile.

"I believe that it should be self-evident why I am here with Dr. Whale, Ms. Blanchard."

The teacher had the graciousness to blush and then promptly fall into her seat. "I'm a match…" She stared blankly out into the room, her eyes remaining open. She stood up suddenly and stared at Dr. Whale, not even taking a moment to blink at the news. "When can we do the surgery?"

"Uh, well, the sooner the better and…" Connor stumbled surprised at her eagerness. Or maybe he should be more surprised of his own surprise. This was Mary Margaret after all.

Regina stared, unable to help herself. "That's all? Nothing more? You know you're a match and now it's…what? You'll just willingly jump under the blade? Not even taking a moment to comment, insult, or…" Regina waved her hand in the air uselessly, "blackmail me?" Regina's eyes hardened. "_Why_?"

"Of course not!" Mary Margaret's voice was breathless, unbelieving as she stared at Regina. "What do you take me for Madame Mayor? _Heartless_?" The woman looked truly stricken at the image Regina had of her. "I would never use this against you. We have our issues with each other." Mary Margaret shook her head, "How or when they began I can't even remember, but this is not about us. This is about your son. About _Henry_. About a little boy that needs help and if I can help him then I will do everything I can. He doesn't deserve this…" Mary Margaret looked at Regina, her eyes softening, just as her tone did. "…and honestly Madame Mayor? Neither do you."

For the second time in the same month, Mary Margaret Blanchard nearly ruined her. Almost ruins her, makes her crumble and break and fall to pieces. _**Almost**_.

Regina's jaw works restlessly as she makes sure not to let it tremble, the burning at the back of her eyes nearly unbearable. "Well, then…there are several things you and Dr. Whale will need to speak about. Once you have concluded your talk, if you are still willing, then…I shall I…" Regina looked away, turned on her heel and simply left the room. Running was not a sign of cowardice. She just, she had somewhere else to be. Anywhere else really, because for the first time in what felt like forever, she knew that everything was going to be okay.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Regina turned onto her side, moaning in her sleep as she relived some of the worst moments of her life, and some of the best. Beside her she felt a small hand grab onto her hand and hold hers tightly. Relaxing into the mattress she turned back towards the source of the comfort.

"Everything will be okay…" The small voice whispered into the darkness around them. "I promise. She'll come. Everything will be okay…" Henry whispered, running his thumb back and forth across his mother's hand, watching as her face relaxed and her shoulders sagged, the tension in her body slowly leaving her alone long enough so she could sleep soundly.

**End Chapter Three**

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**And so a little bit of Regina and Henry's past is uncovered in the Mayor's memories. What'd you think?**

Be on the look out for similarities in this fic and the show in the next chapter. ;-)


	4. Chapter Four

**Author's Note: **As always thank you to all of you who take the time to read, favorite, put on alert and review to this and my other stories. Reviews, as I explained to my sister today, are like homemade cookies. They feed your inner child, or in this case, my muse. ;-) Enjoy the chapter!

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**Chapter Four  
**'_Welcome to Storybrooke'_

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Archie Hooper enjoyed the quietness of Storybrooke. The streets were always empty at this time of night and it was the perfect time for a stroll. It was nice sometimes to be away from people. He liked his times of solitude where it was just him and Pongo walking quietly. He was a psychiatrist. For hours a day he listened to other people talk about their problems and sometimes it was nice to hear nothing but the sounds of nature and his own footsteps on the ground echoing around him.

It was peaceful.

Calming, serene, and he was happy to be out and about tonight. The storm from the day before had kept him cooped up in his apartment so tonight he promised himself and Pongo a bit of a longer walk. Others might think him crazy for being out so early in the morning; it was nearly one A.M after all. He didn't mind the time so much. He was a bit of a night owl, him and Pongo that is.

Holding onto Pongo's leash he strolled down the damp sidewalk, watching as the wind blew wet leaves across the black asphalt of the street. He was walking passed the clock tower when he heard it. The sound of an engine sputtering, the BANG and clack of its parts meshing together in ways he guessed it shouldn't. Looking down the street he saw headlights coming in his direction. _Curious,_ he thought. Anyone still up at this hour was usually on foot, much like him. He waited at the curb of the sidewalk and watched the yellow bug come to a halt in front of him. The engine was cut and the creak of metal against metal hurt his ears as the driver's side door opened.

A tall muscular blonde woman that Archie knew he'd never seen before stepped out and looked at him like he was a bug. He'd been stared at that once already today. The Mayor had come back from the first and only business trip that he'd ever remembered her taking out of Storybrooke. She came back **very** agitated. It seemed she was even more frustrated and angry than she had been before she left, and he'd thought that was impossible. That is until he'd been leaving his session with Henry and saw the Mayor down the hallway hissing something into her cellphone. She'd turned on him after slapping the phone closed and he'd felt even more like an insect in that moment then he'd ever remembered feeling. He feared she was going to simply lift her foot and step on him. Instead she'd told him he was free to leave, to find his own way out. He found his way out of the house faster than he ever had in the last three years.

That was another reason for his walk. After that encounter he needed a bit of time to collect and center himself. Shaking himself from his thoughts as Pongo barked once at the strange woman before sniffing at her, and wagging his tail, Archie really looked at her. She looked a mess. Her eyes were swollen and tinged pink and she had dark shadows under her eyes. He wondered how long she'd been traveling.

Swallowing, he fixed his glasses and put on his best welcoming smile. It wasn't every day that he met someone new in Storybrooke.

"Well, hello. Uhh…welcome to Storybrooke."

Emma looked at the tweed looking man and grinned, "Uh, hi. You wouldn't know where I could find a place to stay would you?"

"Uhm, well, there isn't any hotels around these parts. We don't get many visitors. But, there is a, a uhm, Bed and Breakfast. Yes, a B&B that you can stay at. If you follow this main road and make a right down the second block you'll find it at the very end of the lane. It's Granny's Inn."

Emma nodded taking in the information. "Thanks,"

"Archie, my name's Archie Hopper. Dr. Archie Hopper." Emma should have known he was a doctor of some sort, he looked the type. Though she would have guessed professor or teacher, hell maybe he was both.

'_God I must be tired if I'm debating with myself what kind of profession this stranger has.'_

Emma stuffed her hands into her red leather jacket, feeling a bit awkward, "Yeah, well, thanks Dr. Hopper." Emma looks from her watch to the clock tower across the street and squints, looking back and forth between the two. 8:15? Odd, they should probably have someone fix that. Sparing the doctor another look she got back into her car to find the Inn he had mentioned.

The Inn was certainly out of the way. Emma missed it the first time she drove down the block. You would think that the sign would be lit so late at night, like a beacon for visitors to follow. Hmm, maybe this was the only place with a vacancy for a reason. There's a simple sign hanging above the door that reads: _**Granny's Inn.**_ Across the street is an open parking lot that Emma pulls into. Getting out of the car with her bag in hand she locks the doors and notices that the closed shop she's parked in front of is Granny's Dinner.

Looking back and forth between the two establishments Emma walks across the street, figuring it was normal in a small town like this to have a figure head of the community. Someone that ruled the businesses. Though, why would they name it Granny's? Sure it sounds homey but this late at night it looks…Deserted? Yes, but no. Dead. Eh, not what she was looking for. Creepy. Yes, creepy!

Walking into the Inn Emma was surprised to see three people milling about what appears to be the front desk. The place had looked dead from the outside, looking around Emma realizes it still does.

"Uhm…" Emma clears her throat as the older woman behind the desk hands the man in the black suit jacket and cane a wad of cash. Emma's seen this enough times to keep her mouth shut. Not her place to say anything about illegal activity in a town she's not even sure she's going to be staying in for very long.

"Let's try to keep the money coming in on time from now on, okay deary?" So, the man with the cane had an accent. Emma couldn't place it. It certainly wasn't an American accent of any kind. Odd, since this town seemed too small to gain the attention of foreign investors. Then again, who was she to say anything about foreigner investor's methods? She knew one thing for sure.

She wasn't going to get involved with this man. There was just something about him that rubbed her the wrong way. The hairs on the back of her neck were a bit off putting since they mainly wanted her to get out of doge as fast as possible at the sight of him. Last time she hadn't listened to the little prickly hairs she'd ended up in a LOT of trouble. Too much trouble. She'd learned her lesson and wondered if there was another B&B she could stay at for the night. Dr. Hooper had seemed adamant that this was the only available place for her to stay over-night. Then again, there was always her car. Wasn't like she hadn't slept in her car a few dozen times in her life.

"Hey..!" Emma cringed at that 'mothering' tone. "Where are you going?" The woman behind the counter asked and Emma raised a hand to point at herself before noticing the woman was looking at someone over her shoulder. Behind her was a young woman, maybe a bit younger then herself, with dark brown hair with a dyed red portion. Emma looked at the red shawl covering the woman's head and shoulders and thought of little red riding hood. With the red shawl, hair, and the big purse that might as well be her basket of goodies going to Grandma's house. She certainly wasn't dressed to see Grandma, though, not with those heels and that short skirt.

"Out." And her attitude was a little much for the fairytale character.

"Out where?" Granny asked, and Emma took a step back, letting the two have the conversation not over her shoulders.

"On a date."

"At 1 in the morning? Isn't that a little late to just be going out on a date?"

"No, not for my dates." Emma did her best not to chuckle.

"Excuse me?" Emma stepped between the two of them. There, she was saving Red from undoubtedly a long winded speech from her…Grandmother?

Granny sighed and looked to Emma, surprised that she didn't recognize the woman. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a room…"

"You're looking to _stay_?" Red Riding Hood asked somewhere behind Emma.

As she did Emma noticed the cobwebs on the key slots and offered as bright a smile as she could at the sight. The question from the young woman, who apparently wasn't leaving for her date just yet, made her really think about just huffing it in her car.

"Yes…" Emma looked away from the girl wondering why it was so surprising that she was looking to stay. First Dr. Hooper, and now the two that lived/possible ran the only Bed and Breakfast in town. Was business _that_ slow? Then again, the cobwebs spoke for themselves. She just hoped the rooms were kept in better order. "You have any vacancies? If not I can…" find someplace that didn't give her the creeps and actually had other guests staying in it.

The older woman quickly shook her head, "No, we have rooms. Plenty. Hmm…what kind of view would you like? There's the square view where you can see everything in town or the wood view, quieter but not much to look at…"

Emma sighed, "Just a room with a bed and a shower will do." Emma cut the older woman off as she looked at the dozen or so available keys.

"Here, the Swan room will do." Granny handed Emma the key to the swan room, a small figurine on the key in the shape of the bird made Emma laugh.

"What, may I ask, is so amusing?" Emma was surprised to still see the cane man as well as Red standing behind her at the door. The man with the cane stared curiously at Emma as he leaned heavily against his walking stick with both hands.

"Sure you can." Emma grinned at the man before turning back to the older woman, "Granny, right?" Granny nodded, "Which way to the room?"

"Up the stairs, third door to your left. Got a view of the woods instead of the square, but…" She grinned, "Biggest bathroom we have."

Emma offered her a genuine smile, "Thanks. When it's a decent hour I'll give you what it cost for the night."

"Only staying the night?" Emma ignored the man's voice as she took the offered keys and walked up the stairs.

"Hmm, was it something I said?" Mr. Gold asked the two Wolf women.

"Maybe it was what you _**didn'**_t say." Ruby bit out as she put up her shawl around her head and left the Inn.

Granny didn't bother apologizing for Ruby. If Mr. Gold didn't know Ruby's personality by now then he never would. She didn't have any excuses left for her granddaughter. She also didn't have any excuses for the young woman who'd just arrived either. Looking at the now missing key, Granny watched Mr. Gold leave, realizing she had never gotten the woman's name.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The next morning before Emma even opened her eyes Storybrooke was alive and abuzz with her arrival. There were stories floating around that she was here to arrest Mr. Gold for smuggling. What exactly he was smuggling varied depending on who you asked. Kind of like Emma's description ranged from bad to worse to impossible.

According to Mike, the owner of the bar in town, Emma was a burly six foot five weight lifter with a buzz cut and a studded leather collar. Rudy laughed at that description and wondered where Mike got six foot five burly buzz cut studded collar from 'five six or seven blonde with a cold shoulder attitude' because really? Even as drunk as Ruby was last night she never mentioned anything that remotely sounded like buzz cut.

While Ruby and Granny fielded questions about whom their mystery guest was Emma took her time getting ready for the day. She'd only gotten five and a half hours of sleep, but she thought it'd be better to get this day over with than wait around. Standing in front of the oval mirror on top of the dresser in the rented room Emma stared at herself.

Normally she wouldn't care to put much of anything like make-up on. The other night for Ryan-what's-his-jackass-face she put on some lipstick and blush to play the part. It had been part of the job. Now she was contemplating dolling herself up to see her son. She wasn't even sure she'd get to see him at all. If Mayor Mills was smart she'd make sure Emma got nowhere NEAR Henry. Just by talking to the Mayor yesterday Emma knew the Mayor had a decent IQ so the chances of actually meeting Henry today were very slim. Still, she couldn't blame the Mayor for what she may or may not do.

So…maybe it would be better just to be herself? That was better than pretending to be something-someone she wasn't. Wasn't it?

Emma pulled on her red leather jacket over her white tank top. With blue jeans and her favorite pair of tennis shoes—no scuff marks—she left her room locking it behind her. Looking at her watch she decided it would be better for everyone involved if she got coffee. Seeing a decent crowd at Granny's Diner Emma pushed her hands into her pockets and strode across the street. Checking Lucy, her yellow bug, she nodded satisfied that Lucy had been left in peace through the morning. No spray paint or tags on her car. Those were a bitch to clean off and occasionally appeared on Lucy while in Boston.

Walking into Granny's Emma knew something was off. It was…quiet. A moment ago there had been ample chatter, almost excited tales being shared but now? You could hear a pin drop.

Have you ever had that feeling that people were talking about you? Rather lively for at least a few minutes and as you walk in the room it goes silent enough to distinguish who just sneezed in a crowd of twenty? Well, for the first time in her 28 years Emma now knows what that was like.

Every pair of eyes in the quaint little diner looked at her, judged her, and after passing their judgment went back to their conversations, which became soft and hushed. Groups of three or more leaned into each other as they whispered, one or two of the group looking at her every few seconds.

_So this is what a fish feels like at the aquarium…_

Making her way, slowly, to an empty seat at the counter Emma sat down and saw the woman—Red Riding Hood—from last night, in a skimpier version of what appeared to be the uniform here. She was talking to a tall muscular uniformed cop, or what appeared to be one. He had a sleek face and a bit of facial hair that added to his mystique. By the way Red Riding Hood, as Emma was calling her for now, was leaning over the counter smiling and batting her eyelashes she was interested in him. He looked a little old for her, but who was Emma to judge?

"Aww…come on Sherriff not even a short ride in your cruiser?"

"Not unless you've broken the law. And a good girl like _you_ Rubes, wouldn't have broken any of those, have you?"

"Of _course_ she hasn't…" Emma tried not to snicker as Rubes(?) was cock blocked by her grandmother. "There are other people who need to be served Ruby. Not to mean you aren't important to serve as well Sherriff."

The Sherriff laughed, "No, I completely understand ma'am…" He nodded his head and picked up the tray of three coffees and a plain brown bag. Emma wondered who it was that was getting the other two coffees. Maybe his deputies?

_I shot the Sheriff but I did not shoot his dep-uuu-ttyy…_Emma hums to herself. It's none of her business who the other two cups of coffees are for, but this is what she does when she's bored. She people watches and makes up stories about them. Its something that has helped her pass the time since she was a little girl. The tales she can come up with for complete strangers sometimes even impresses her.

Today she's using the people story telling/watching, it to keep her mind off the whispering that's going on behind her. Speaking of the whispering, she chances to look over her shoulder. She catches at least four people looking at her, who quickly shut up as she glared at them. Maybe she should have gotten dressed up to walk in here. Just to give these brown nosers something a bit juicier to talk about.

A woman sits next to her, "Don't mind them. They're all just big brown nosers."

_Just what I was thinking_…Emma turned to her right, surprised to see that the slightly shorter brunette with short, raven hair was actually talking _**to**_ her not _**about**_ her.

"Oh, yeah that was easy to pick up on when the whole place went quiet the second I walked in."

The woman laughed softly. "You'll have to forgive us, we're not accustomed to strangers passing through."

Emma hummed as she lifted her eyebrows, you don't say. Her only response was to look away from the only person who'd even attempted to talk to her when Ruby—was that what Granny had called her?—came over. Note pad in hand the waitress smiled.

"Well, good morning _Stranger_. What can I get for you?" Emma didn't know why but Ruby's smile and her—apparently—natural flirtatious personality makes Emma return the smile. Maybe it was because Emma used to be just like her before she grew up. Still, feeling some kind of kindred connection to the waitress she decided to flirt back a bit. She crossed her arms in front of her on the counter and leaned toward the woman showing her own bit of cleavage—not that she was showing as much as Ruby was.

Ruby's smile turned into a Cheshire cat grin.

"I'd worship the ground you walk on if you can get me a good cup of hot coffee with two sugars and cream."

Ruby wiggled her eyebrows at Emma and winked at the woman sitting beside her, who Emma still didn't get a name for. "Well, you'll just have to start calming me Lady Red then won't you?" Ruby chuckled, "Coffee, hot, cream and two lumps coming right up. To go?"

"I'll call you anything you want if you give me _**good**_ coffee…" Emma teased, before she thought about it for a moment. She looked around the diner before shrugging. "What the hell, to stay. I need some information with that coffee. You good to give that also Lady Red?"

"Well, I don't know. Depends on what you're asking. Might cost you more than a bit of flirting."

"Why don't you take this woman's order and we can discuss the prices I'll have to pay for what I need to know."

"You got it Blondie. –No?" Ruby asked at the flinch, "Yeah, you're right. Stranger suits you much better." Turning to Emma's right Ruby's smile softened. "What can I get for you today Mary Margaret? You're usual?"

Mary Margaret nodded, "Yes, please Ruby, thank you."

"No problem." Ruby walked away with what appeared to be a natural spring to her step.

"So, mind if the Stranger asks what your usual is?" Emma inquired, curious. She'd never stayed in one place or kept her routine the same long enough for someone to know her usual. It didn't pay to be predicable. Not with her jobs or her past.

"Only if the Stranger gives me her name."

"Emma," The second she mentioned her name it was like she'd spoken into a malfunctioning microphone, her name was repeated over and over again behind her. "Is it really so unusual for someone new to come around?" Emma couldn't believe that she was THIS interesting.

Mary Margaret smiled as she looked down the counter to Ruby who was eagerly approaching them. "M&M, your usual." Ruby handed her counter-mate her drink first then a brown bag with something relatively light in it as it didn't sink the bottom of the bag, Emma noticed.

"Thanks Rubes," Mary Margaret handed Ruby exact change down to the three pennies. Standing she took a sip of her drink and smiled. "Mmmm…perfect as always Ruby." The woman takes her things and turns to walk away.

"Hey, wait! You didn't hold up your end of the bargain." Emma turned to watch Mary Margaret leave calling out to her quickly. She didn't reach out for her. She knew from personal experience—on behalf of the people to grab her unexpectedly—you do not do that to strangers. It's a matter of manners.

"Hot chocolate…the only way it's supposed to be." She looked down at the brown bag, "Oh and whole wheat toast with strawberry jam."

"Homemade jam!" Granny called out smiling at Mary Margaret as several patrons laughed at the usual outburst Granny made about her special homemade jam.

Emma couldn't help but chuckle, "Ah, so that makes it worth the four dollars and…thirty eight cents?" The shocked stares from both Mary Margaret and Ruby let Emma know she was right. She's a perceptive person; it's what makes her so good at her job. She notices things most people don't. "Anyway, it can't be the only way hot chocolate should be made unless it has whipped cream and cinnamo"

"..on." Emma and Mary Margaret each look taken aback.

"You take it with cinnamon?" Emma asks, surprised.

"Yes, and it's weird." Ruby insists, "You're both weird then. Ha, well at least I know Mary Margaret isn't the only one that's nuts!" Ruby disappeared to sever someone else leaving Emma her coffee.

"It is nice to realize I'm not the only one who enjoys cinnamon in my hot chocolate."

Yes, Emma realized it is nice to know. Emma turned to Mary Margaret and grinned back at the woman before watching her walk away. Shaking her head at the oddity of this town and its people she waits for the crowd to thin down.

Most leave to make it to their jobs at eight thirty. Emma stays at the counter sipping her coffee, waiting for Ruby to come back. She watches some of the people stare at her back through the reflective surface of the display glass behind the counter. Smiling into her coffee she sighs wistfully wondering how long she'd be the side show of the town if she stays.

"So, tell me Ruby, where can I find Regina Mills at this time a day?" Emma asks as Ruby leans over in front of her, only three people still in the shop besides her.

Ruby's jaw drops at her as Emma raises her brow. "So, Mayor Mills? Where's she at?" Emma asks any playfulness she'd shown gone. This was serious after all.

"Ha..her office?" Ruby stutters, wondering where the playful stranger had gone.

"Wonderful. Where can I find that office?" Putting her empty coffee cup down Emma stands and puts two dollars on the counter.

"North. Up Main Street across from the Sheriff's office. Take a right outside the front doors it's about a fifteen minute walk up. You can't miss 'em."

Emma smiles, and puts a five dollar bill down on the counter next to the two dollars. "Thanks."

Leaving the diner she decides to walk. It's a nice day after all and within ten minutes she can already make out the Sherriff's office to the right of the road and diagonally across from it is what Emma assumes is the Mayor's office. Wonderful, now the day could really begin and she could get her official Welcome to Storybrooke from the Mayor not some sign or Doctor she met on the street.

**End Chapter Four**

**So...what do you think? What kind of welcome is Emma going to get from Mayor Mills? **


	5. Chapter Five

**Author's Note: **Here is the next update. Thank you to everyone that has responded to this story be it through placing it on alert, favoring it, and reviewing. For those that read **A Bounty for a Witch's Heart**, an update will be posted tomorrow evening. It is being edited as you read this (for most of you). ;-)

You'll get the answer to the question I posed last chapter right….now. (Enjoy!)

**Chapter Five  
**'_Mayor or Queen'_

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Regina smiled as she sipped at her cup of coffee. Graham caught her just as she was about to enter her office—like he always did—and handed her the cup, kissed her forehead, and walked across the street to the station. It was their routine. He was up at the crack of dawn, the first to rise and get into the office. They used to rotate the schedule, when Regina could actually afford to wake early and head into work on the second Wednesday of the month or first Saturday. That had stopped when Henry got sicker. Now she stayed home an extra hour or two to see Henry for at least an hour before she came into work. Her work days were cut short, she now worked half days most of the week and got all of her meetings done in the morning leaving her room for paper work during the afternoon. Whatever she did not finish in the office she took home and finished after she had put Henry to bed for the night or for the mornings where she still woke up at the crack of dawn but stayed home instead of coming into the office.

Today she was just happy to have something to take her mind off of the disaster today promised to be. She'd overslept, didn't finish overlooking the budgeting report that was due tomorrow morning for the fire department as well as the Sherriff's department and the volunteer EMTs and ambulance runners. It was going to be a long day of crunching numbers and calling offices and speaking to secretaries before being passed on to the Chiefs. At least Regina knew she could count on Graham to answer his phone since he didn't have a secretary and was currently hoping there was enough money in the budget for a deputy. If there wasn't room for it, Regina would find it…somehow. Graham needed more time for himself. What time he did have off he was often times found at her house, office, or at the hospital with her and Henry. Then again, there was the bonus for him that Kathryn was at her house, office, or the hospital with her and Henry as well. Still, Regina understood that he needed more time to himself. Or at least time he could spend with Kathryn without her and Henry being third and fourth wheels.

Shaking away those thoughts she turned away from the Sheriff's station and sipped at her coffee. She'd woken up late this morning, her night plagued with beautiful nightmares of the past, and surprisingly? It was the past year here in Storybrooke that plagued her more than the nightmares of old. Waking up late Regina hadn't had time to make breakfast as she usually did each morning. However when she walked downstairs she shouldn't have been surprised to find Kathryn already there with breakfast ready and waiting for her and Henry.

Henry woke up late himself and had matching black circles under his eyes. His smile had been infectious however and he'd even spent breakfast talking to her and Kathryn about the book he was reading, one Mary Margaret had given to him last week. It was a fairytale book and he had become immersed in the stories, if the stories hadn't made him so happy Regina might be worried. But anything that could put a smile on Henry's face, the likes of which this book seemed to do, was welcome in her home and in their lives. It had been far too long since she had seen Henry as excited as he was about…life in general.

Before she'd left home Regina helped Henry get ready for the day. He had lessons with Kathryn from nine until eleven before his blood count was checked, lunch, and then another hour and a half of lessons; mostly on doing the homework and assignments he was given. Whatever he didn't finish by the time Regina made it home at three would be finished before dinner, Regina helping him while Kathryn spent the afternoon out (with Graham at the Sheriff's department).

Henry was having a good day. He'd eaten a good portion of his breakfast and seemed chipper, which he normally wasn't in the morning. Before she left she promised Henry she'd be back by lunch today instead of three. They needed to talk.

First, Regina needed to call Dr. Whale and have him meet her at home. She didn't want to have this conversation with Henry in the hospital. She wanted him to be comfortable and free to tell her what he wanted. He was always uncomfortable in the hospital. He did put on a brave front for everyone else—her mostly. He would want to be home for this discussion, and so would she. She would need the comfort of her own home, of the walls that she and Henry had lived in for the last ten years to comfort her in this time of need. Talking to Henry about how he would like to spend the last few months of his life was not a conversation she wanted to have with her ten year old son. _Ever_.

There was still hope, just a little, inside her that Mr. Gold would come through on his end. She prayed that he was as good at finding Emma Swan a second time around as he was the first. Especially now that she was on the run.

Walking up the stairs to her office Regina greeted Judy on her way passed her assistant's desk. "Good morning, Judy."

"Morning, Madame Mayor." The woman stood as she cleared her throat and handed Regina a folder and the morning newspaper. "You're nine o'clock meeting is here." Judy informed as the Mayor almost made it into the 'safety' of her office. However her announcement stopped Regina in her tracks. "Early." Judy continued her statement as she watched the Mayor look down at her watch, noting the time.

Stepping back out the door Regina hooked her head around the corner and saw the two waiting men. "Gentleman, good morning, please follow me." She left her office door open for the two men and stalked towards her desk where she put down her coffee, the folder and newspaper. "Close the door behind you." She instructed and with a click the black and white door sealed the three patrons in the room together.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Pulling her leather jacket tighter around herself Emma made her way to the Mayor's office following the signs. Second floor to your right they directed. The second floor hallway is decorated in black and white tile and Emma thinks it fits Regina perfectly.

'_Light and Dark, Caring and Cunning, Good and Evil, huh, more than fitting.'_

Walking through the open door into the front of the Mayor's office Emma sees a young woman at her desk look up from a phone call.

"How can I help you, today?" The woman asks as she hangs up the phone with a bright and cheery, "have a pleasant day," to the caller.

"I'm here to see the Mayor." Emma looks to the closed doors of what must be the Mayor's private office directly across from the secretary/assistant's desk. Behind the desk slightly down into the large spacious office is a small waiting room with two chairs, a couch, and a small rectangular table in the center of the formation. There are paintings and even scattered magazines and what looks like the morning paper on the table as well. _'Like a doctor's office. Sterile, quiet, and passively engaging.'_

Emma admits to herself that the painting behind the couch along the wall, four foot by three, is nice. It's a detailed oil painting of a forest at the edge of a sea shore with a castle high on a cliff above the crashing waves. From this far away Emma can't make out the entire drawing but even from here she can see the white dots that look like birds flying in the white clouded sky.

"Name? Appointment?" The sound of the other woman's voice pulls her from her thoughts away from the painting and the reigning monarch of such a castle, truly ruling from above.

Emma laughs, "Emma, and I don't have an appointment."

"I'm sorry, but unless you have an appointment I can't just let you in. She's very busy today so if you'd like to speak with her I can find you an opening…tomorrow evening at the earliest."

"No, that doesn't work for me."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you Ms…" The woman is pulling for her last name, but she wants this to be a surprise. Kind of like how Mayor Mills surprised her on her birthday. Unexpected and life changing.

'_Fair is fair after all.'_

Emma doesn't offer her last name, she's too busy making her way closer to the closed doors. "She in the office now?" Emma juts her thumb to the door as she stands in front of…she looks at the name plate…Judy's desk.

"She's in a meeting right now that can't be dis—hey wait!"

Emma shakes her head no, she won't wait. Besides, she has a feeling that whatever meeting the Mayor is in currently will simply be put on hold. After all, the woman had made it very clear to her that the most important thing in her life was her son, the kid, Henry. If she wasn't just trying to pull one over on her—and Emma really hopes she wasn't playing some kind of sick joke—then Mayor Mills will see her right now, this minute, the second she walks in without pause. That is, IF she hadn't been lying and for her sake? Emma hopes she wasn't lying because even if she is Mayor of this township in the middle of nowhere Maine, she is going to take great joy in kicking her ass.

As Emma walks into the office she whistles lowly at the magnificence of the office. She really wasn't off on her assumption that the Mayor was loaded and Henry was probably spoiled rotten. Emma really likes the horse, or is that a unicorn? Whatever it is, she likes it, on the wall and the black and white theme. It suits the Mayor just like the black and white tile did in the hallway. The way the room is set up almost resembles, in Emma's mind, a throne room.

With the large desk and black ominous looking arm chair and the grand windows behind it with the light shining in behind Regina, putting those sitting towards the Mayor at a slight disadvantage, it makes the Mayor look like the reigning queen. The light and grace of the Gods in her favor as they bathe her in their golden halo. It doesn't hurt that the room seems to be a bit off, there is a slight lift in the floor towards the desk, putting Regina slightly higher than anyone else in the room even if it is by an inch or two. It's like in the painting! A monarch, in this case a queen, reigns above her people.

'_You just have the painting on the brain Emma. Regina's no queen. Queen like, yeah sure, but a Queen? Ha if she's a Queen then you might as well be a knight in shining armor come to save the day. And, like you already know, we're no knight of shining anything.' _

"I don't want to hear excuses you said that you…" Emma realizes that she really did interrupt some kind of meeting and here she was thinking Judy just didn't want to let her in. There are two men sitting in the chairs in front of the large desk where Regina sits leaning forward aggressively.

Emma knew she was a tough one, and she can practically feel Regina's frustration from here by the open doors, where Judy has just gotten to her. "Judy what is the meaning of this I said I was not to be dis…"

The two men in their chairs turn around in them to look at who has interrupted the meeting. Emma recognized one of the men as the cane man from last night, whose name she never got. In the chair beside him is a glaring obviously frustrated and a bit uncertain dark skinned business man if his suit is anything to go by. She isn't sure what ethnicity he is and doesn't have long to really ponder on it because now that the two men have moved their chairs Regina has a clear line of sight of her.

Emma swallows, suddenly feeling like this probably wasn't the greatest idea in the world because the look of shock and rage on Regina's face? It scares her enough to second guess herself, which she hates.

Judy seems out of breath even though she just had to run around her desk and five feet. "I'm sorry Madame Mayor I can call…"

"No, no, thank you Judy that won't be necessary." Regina blinks, unsure that she is truly seeing Ms. Emma Swan in front of her grinning like a kid who got away with taking the cookie from the cookie jar _**and**_ helping to hide the cat's victory over the canary—which she'd obviously never liked to begin with—from mom and dad.

"Yeah, she did try to keep me out, but _you see…_I never got the chance to tell her that you'd be interested in seeing me. Even without an appointment." Emma offers her best grin, hoping to at least appear cocky and sure of herself when she's neither at the moment.

"Madame Mayor?" Judy asks unsure looking between who she thinks is a crazy woman and the Mayor whom she holds in high regard.

"It's alright, Judy. Do make sure _no one __**else**_ comes in unless it is Sherriff Graham or Dr. Whale. You know I am not to be disturbed by phone also unless…"

"Yes, ma'am." Judy already knows who to put through and who to let in but being reminded like it's the first week on the job stings. She's been Mayor Mills' secretary for five years. She knows what she is supposed to do and what she is not supposed to do. She quickly leaves and sighs, swearing she'll sit in front of the door if she has to, to keep anyone else out of the Mayor's office.

"Thanks Judy…" Emma feels bad for the girl, but only a little.

"Who are you?" The man Emma doesn't know asks first. Not that she knows the man with the cane, but at least he is familiar enough to have given him a nick-name. Man with cane, or Cane Man makes him sound like a superhero, no no that won't do. He's too creepy to be a super hero. It's also a bit plain for a super hero, even if Batman and Superman are just as plain, at least they kick ass. Besides he has villain written all over him with his cocky attitude to rival that of Lex Luther. Hopefully he'll be the smarmy type of villain that never wins. Now _**THAT**_ she thinks fits him well; kind of like Two-Face or Joker, but hopefully without the bloodshed, bad jokes, and explosions.

Turning back to the crowd of three and out of her comic book fan regression, she steps into the room, sticking her hands into her leather jacket as she walks around the office taking it all in. It gives her time to think about what she should say, how she should say it, and why she didn't think about this before coming in here.

"You don't like to answer questions do you, deary?" Cane Man asks as he follows her movements around the room, watching her carefully. There's a sparkle in his eyes that belies that he already knows the answer to all the questions he'd asked her last night. It makes her skin crawl.

Emma simply grins cheekily at the man and shrugs, running her hand over a particularly interesting engraving on the mantel she's now standing in front of. Its horses, racing horses in movement are carved into the marble looking surface.

Regina stands from her chair to watch Emma's every movement. "Do be careful, that's expensive."

_No shit Sherlock,_ "You don't say?" Emma rolls her eyes as she moves away from the mantel only stopping when she notices pictures of Regina and Henry on the table beside the black _leather_ (yum) couch. Emma picks one up the photo of Regina kneeling next to Henry. The boy's in a wheelchair and holding a stuffed animal while Regina looks at him. The adoration that is clearly visible on Regina's face slices at Emma's heart. She puts down the picture quickly, carefully as if by putting it down any other way the memory might be lost or disturbed.

Regina allows Ms. Swan the time she seems to need to acquaint herself with the room. She waits until she's standing behind Mr. Gold's chair before she addresses her. "What are you doing here, Ms. Swan?"

"Ms. Swan?" The cowering minion—which is just perfect because with Regina standing the way she is leaning slightly on the desk she truly does look like a queen and the man to Emma's right her faithful servant, or lap dog. Whichever. He sounds surprised, but the easy way her name rolls off his tongue makes Emma think that he's said it more than this once. '_How interesting.'_

"This is the second time I've seen you around. Maybe it is time I introduced myself." Emma looked to the man with the cane. "Emma Swan."

"Just passing through?" He asked with a knowing grin. Emma notices he hasn't offered his name yet. Payback perhaps for making him work or wait for hers?

"You two have met?" Regina asked looking between the two. "When?"

"Last night," Emma answers off handedly, "Mr…?" Emma raises a brow at the man, having not caught his name while passing through Granny's Inn.

"Gold." _Ha…how fitting._

"Mr. Gold here was conducting some business at the B&B last night when I got in." Business that looked like the illegal sort but that still wasn't any of Emma's business.

Regina looked curious, as if to say _'oh really,'_ "And what time did you get in?"

"Around one a.m." Would have been later had she not lucked out. "Got a little lost." Emma shrugs as if it wasn't such a big deal. When in reality the fact that she was here at all was the biggest deal in Regina's long life and Henry's short one.

"Is that so?" Regina inquires, and Emma can practically see the mines the Mayor is throwing out around her to catch her in a trap. Which, if Emma is honest with herself, mines aren't the best way to trap someone. Exterminate them certainly. But a bear trap could be just as painful but less deadly. The bear trap would also award the Mayor the answers she is looking for at the same time not just a corpse. It's a win-win for everyone—especially the one who would have been blown up otherwise.

"Yea, you see, for some reason my GPS didn't recognize this little township. It wasn't on any maps I bought either, which is a little weird…" There were a lot of small little places in the middle of nowhere that weren't on certain maps. "…but not completely uncommon." She did only buy the standard maps not the in-excruciating-detail ones that took up the entire width and length of the front of her car.

"If it wasn't on a map or you're GPS, how pray tell, did you find your way?" Regina was interested; she hadn't known that Storybrooke would not appear in certain maps or even on the GPS. She spared a look to Mr. Gold and saw him lift his eyebrows for a show before relaxing as he listened to Emma's explanation. He obviously wasn't as surprised as she was.

"It's what I do." Emma didn't want to admit that she'd really only found this place on accident. She'd stopped at just the right gas station and spoken to the right attended to get general directions here. Kind of like Fate was intervening, except Emma didn't believe in Fate. It was just dumb luck, because luck was something occasionally on her side, unlike Fate which was never kind to her.

"What is, dear? Getting lost?" Mr. Gold grinned at the Mayor's dig.

"Finding people." Emma replied, her tone a bit defensive. "I'm a bail bonds-_person_. I find people for a living. I figured finding you wasn't going to be that hard. You at least wouldn't be running from the law. Just upholding it."

There was silence in the room for several lone moments, uncomfortable. In Emma's opinion it was the 'I need to say something quick to end this madness' type of silence. However no one seemed willing to break it until…

"Hmm…" Mr. Gold looked to Regina with a smile. "We can reschedule if…"

"Yes," Regina cleared her throat, looking to Mr. Gold and Sidney. "Yes, I think that would be a wonderful idea. Tomorrow, speak with Judy about appropriate times on your way out. Thank you, both gentlemen, for your consideration in this matter. I will not forget it." Especially since Regina was sure Mr. Gold would make it impossible for her to forget it. That last bit was said for Sidney so he understood how grateful she would be if he left quietly and without a fuss even though his very nature was probably begging for him to stay and find out all he could about Ms. Swan. More so than he already knew now that he had a face to go with the file he had created on her.

"Of course Madame Mayor." Mr. Gold stood. "Good day Ms. Swan."

Emma nodded her goodbye, watching as Mr. Gold left immediately but Mr. Somebody stayed to talk/whisper secrets with Regina.

"Sidney…Sidney! I'll be fine. Yes, I'll call you." Regina plastered on a smile and walked the two men to the door. Once there she told Judy she was not to be disturbed (again) and stood before the closed doors for several minutes.

Turning around she saw Ms. Swan sitting in Sidney's former seat, facing her desk. Regina was grateful for this moment to compose herself. She had called Sidney and Gold here to talk about _**how**_ they were going to get Ms. Swan here to Storybrooke and…here she was. Just like Gold said she would be.

_Wonderful, another thing I may or may not owe him for. This all counts as one favor. It's all part of the same deal. _Regina thought as she steeled herself before walking with her usual confidence to her desk. Instead of sitting behind it she leaned on the edge closest to Ms. Swan. "I am surprised to see you Ms. Swan." Especially after their last meeting, her subsequent return to Storybrooke, alone.

"Look, Madame Mayor, if this is going to work you are going to have to call me Emma." Because the Ms. Swan thing was old the third time she'd said it while standing in her doorway back in Boston.

Regina looked skeptical, "You are," a beat, "considering…_this_?"

It wasn't like she hadn't just driven five hours and passed this practically invisible town twice in her attempts to get here **not** to be considering it. "Do you think I would be here if I wasn't?" Emma rolled her eyes, because really what did Regina take her for?

Regina couldn't relax, not knowing how quickly Emma had dashed her hopes just a day before. "What's the **catch**, as they say?"

"Huh?" Emma didn't follow.

Regina rolled her eyes and sighed. She rearranged herself, shifting her weight onto her opposite leg as she crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her chin down as she looked at Emma. "What do you _want_?" The Mayor spelled it out for the blonde.

"I don't follow…" What did she want? To help? She'd made the conscious decision to do what she could for her son. She had the miles in her car and the sleepless nights with black circles to prove it. She was here, in Storybrooke Maine, which might as well be a cow lick township in Canada for how little Emma knew about it or cared.

Regina wasn't buying it. "How much money do you want in return for doing this?"

Well, there's the answer to Emma's previous question. Apparently Regina thought Emma was a con artist or some form of gold digger, maybe both or something worse. It made her angry, just a big bit.

Emma shook her head and stood up. "I'm not doing this to get your money. I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do." It had just taken her a long grueling twenty four hours to realize that. "If you think I'm some kind of con artist then you can go to heh…"

"Please…" Regina reached out and grabbed Emma's wrist, holding the younger woman still. "I merely want my bases covered. I am willing to _pay_, **do…**anything to save my son. I thought…"

Emma sighed, "You thought I would take advantage of that." Emma was still cold, her voice crisp as she turned to look over her shoulder at Regina. She had had a clear line of sight of the door. Had Regina not grabbed her hand she would have left cursing the Mayor the entire way. Regina had a right to worry about her but not because she wanted the Mayor's money. Looking from the Mayor to the hand holding her wrist she looked back up, "You going to let me go?"

Regina contemplated not letting the woman go. She could borrow a pair of Graham's handcuffs and keep the woman here whether she wanted to stay or not. It would be a bit harder to get things done as Connor was certainly not going to approve of kidnapping as a method to ascertain part of an organ but if it was what she had to do, she would do it. Without a second though. It wouldn't be the worst thing she'd ever done. Not by a long shot.

However, there were several benefits of not holding Emma against her will, so she let her go, releasing her wrist slowly. She was glad to see Emma turn to face her, her back now to the door, rather than watch as the bail bonds-person continue to walk right out of her office.

Emma didn't make her way back to her seat, but it was a start that she hadn't left Regina's office yet.

"I heard you…" The sound of Regina's desperate pleas echoing through her closed and otherwise still and empty apartment made her shiver even now. "…the first time about doing anything for _your son_. I just, I needed to figure out if I could do that too, you know?" Emma looked down at their shoes. How fitting that her white tennis shoes were the opposite of the Mayor's black heels in color and class. It matched the room even in this.

White and black; good and evil. Emma felt more like the bad guy in this matter, especially with the memory of Regina's strangled voice sounding through the apartment.

"And?" The rest of the statement was left unsaid, Regina's eyes and nervous shift spoke it for her. _'Can you?'_

"Yeah, I can. So…where exactly do I have the tests done to see if I am supposed to do this?" Emma asked, testing herself as she looked up for a few seconds before focusing on the Mayor's black pencil skirt instead of her eyes. Her hands self-consciously slipped back into her jacket pockets. She pulled at the material of her jacket as she forced herself to meet Regina's eyes.

Emma still wanted to make sure that she was able to do this, to donate whatever she needed to donate. Thinking about it, Emma didn't even know what type or kind of cancer Henry had. She didn't know what organ she had just volunteered to give up or give a piece of. For all she knows, she could have just agreed to give up a lung or something. Not that she thinks people can give up an entire lung…can they? _Ha, is that what they mean when they say you'll do stupid things for love?_ Before now Emma wouldn't know.

Emma's never been in love, and although this situation wasn't the type to have a budding romance of any kind, it had a form of love. One that Emma had felt while talking to her stomach late at night as she felt Henry kicking and moving around inside her. It had been ten years since she'd felt that light feeling she felt back then surround her chest. She had thought it was gas or just a pregnancy phenomenon but now, she was doubtful. Maybe it had been love the entire time.

As Emma thought more on what lengths she was suddenly willing to go to for a child she had still not even met Regina held up one slender finger, reached for her phone, pressed several buttons and tapped her foot twice before she spoke: "Dr. Whale, this is…"

"Dr. Whale?" Emma mouths the name, huffing a laugh at the sound of it before listening in to the Mayor's continued conversation.

"Yes, I will be coming by the hospital with Ms. Swan. She wishes to speak with you about…wonderful." Regina smiled as if she was the cat that just got the canary and the cream as she hung up.

"Follow me."

It wasn't a question and Emma quickly fell in step behind the brunette mumbling, _"yes your majesty"_ under her breath.

Sparing one last glance around Regina's thrown room—ah office—Emma closed the doors behind them and wondered, not for the first time, what she was getting herself into as they clicked closed.

**End Chapter Five**

I think the majority of you are/were right. Regina is a bit surprised at Emma's entrance but so far so good, right? After all the day is far from over yet. ;-)


	6. Chapter Six

**Author's Note: **A lot of you have been asking about Mary Margaret and why if she is a match that Regina still went looking for Emma. That question will be answered in this chapter as well as what Henry has and his medical history. All information I am using in this fic comes from the research I've done on children and this specific form of cancer from the internet. If there are mistakes they are mine. Please keep in mind this is also a fic with the undercurrent of magic involved so when a doctor starts talking about a miracle, well he aint kidding.

Thank you all for your support of this story. I appreciate every alert, favorite and review. Let me know what you think so I can improve. :-)

* * *

**Chapter Six  
**'_Doctors, Hospitals, and Wails'_

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Emma shouldn't have been surprised. The Mayor's car was the black Mercedes. Emma wondered if there was no other color that the Mayor liked. Her clothes were one thing, her office a second and now her car? At least the interior was leather. They shared that in common. Except Emma had a sinking suspicion that the Mayor's leather wasn't as thrift shop pleather as Emma's often was. So, maybe they didn't have that in common.

Sinking into the passenger seat Emma kept her hands on her lap waiting for the Mayor to pull away. After an unneeded minute Emma turned to see Regina looking at her. Confused Emma looked out the window before meeting Regina's eyes again, "What?"

"Seatbelt." Regina pointed to the belt and waited impatiently for Emma to put it on.

Emma laughed, until she realized Mayor Mills wasn't going to pull away until she put on her seatbelt. Huh…Emma thought. "Alright, then. You're serious…" Pulling on the safety belt Emma tugged on it as it rested across her chest to show she was wearing it.

Regina took a deep breath to calm down. The last thing she needed to do was upset Ms. Swan. It was obvious the woman had issued with authority. That had been clear in the file Sidney had pulled on Ms. Swan. The woman didn't stay in one place for very long. She had been lucky to catch Ms. Swan in one of her down periods. In the last four years Sidney found the blonde had moved from one place to another every three months or so. Ms. Swan had been in Boston for almost five, thankfully. If Regina wasn't desperate for Ms. Swan's help she might feel bad for disturbing the woman when she had apparently found someplace to be comfortable in.

Emma's laughter pulled Regina's attention away from the road. Staring through the corner of her eyes Regina snipped, "What is so _funny_?"

"Well, you are actually." Emma chuckled, consumed by her own thoughts.

It was another block before Regina spoke again. The blood vessel in her neck pulsing as the Mayor instinctively flexed and eased her muscles. "What _exactly_ about **me** is so _**funny**_?"

"Calm down Madame Mayor, it's not like you have something on your face." Emma looked away, grinning as Regina swiped nonchalantly at her right cheek—just to make sure she, in fact, did not have something on her face. "Like I said, nothing on your face. You just…" Emma groaned as the car came to a sudden stop. Regina's arm shot out—on instinct—and held Emma back from hitting the dashboard. Not that Emma's seatbelt would have allowed for that. It had already snagged, catching Emma and holding her back against her seat like it was supposed to.

"Wh..aat…was that for!" Emma raged, sure that Regina had done that on purpose.

"Aside from stopping the car short to save that child…" Regina jutted her head to the road where said child was now being held in his mother's arms. In the toddler's arms was a rainbow medium bouncy ball. "…nothing."

Emma blinked and remained silent as the mother came to the window, the boy still held tightly in her arms, even if he seemed a bit heavy for her to lift. He had to be three or four and was stock still, blinking every few seconds. He and the mother's faces were level with Regina's window.

"Oh my…Ma-ma-mayor…hu-hmm…th-thank…" The mother was out of breath and looked like she was about to cry.

"Carla, it's going to be fine. I'm sorry if I scared Charley." Regina looked kingly at the boy in Carla's arms.

"No…maybe…now he'll thing twice about…" Carla swallowed and two tears fell. The woman was obviously in shock. She had almost watched her son get run over by a car. She had raced across the front deck and the lawn but still had only gotten to Charley seconds after the car had stopped inches in front of him.

"Go on back into the house. He's fine. So are you. He'll be fine! Won't you Charley?" The boy blinked three times before nodding his head. He arched his head to look up at his mother and offered her a gap tooth grin.

Carla nodded and stepped up onto the curb. Regina waited until they made it into the house before she continued down the road.

"That…" Emma was practically speechless at witnessing Regina interact with that woman and her son. Did the Mayor know everyone's name here in town? Or was this just a coincidence that she'd stopped before killing the child of someone she knew personally?

"That happens around these streets, Ms. Swan. It's why there are more signs warning about children at play here then deer crossings."

Emma nodded, shocked that Regina wasn't even phased by this. Maybe it did happen enough to make her immune to it and why she was driving so slow through the residential area. "I'll be sure to remember that." Especially if it kept her from hitting some small kid on accident.

The silence in the car was deafening. The tension palatable as Regina drove.

"You're a mom." Emma whispered looking away from the street signs passing them by and the houses with the picket fences and green grass front yards.

At a stop sign Regina turned her full attention to Emma waiting for the blonde to elaborate. "Yes, I am a mom, I don't…"

"The seatbelt thing and the soccer mom arm block you did. The way you spoke to that kid, Charley. You're a mom." Emma explained, "It was hard to imagine you as a mom before when you showed up at my door, or even in your office. It…even the pictures only hinted at the fact, that, well that you're a mom."

"Your point?" Regina asked. She'd heard it for years how she didn't seem like the "mom type". She made it a point to be at every bake sale, every school faire, play, recital and even all Henry's intermural soccer games when he was too little to even really kick the ball very far. She had been trying to prove to everyone from the very beginning, from the day she'd been given Henry, that she was his mom. A good mom.

Now here she was sitting with Henry's birth mom and she was the one to common on how mom-ish she was. Emma hadn't even seen her interact with Henry. She just saw what having Henry in her life had helped her become. A better person. A vigilant person and a kinder woman.

Where mom came from, Regina wasn't sure. Then again what authority did Emma have to declare she was mom-like?

Emma shrugged, "I guess I don't have one Mayor."

Regina nodded, happy with the silence that descended over them again.

Emma twisted her shoulder so she could watch out her window. Hopefully she would be able to find the hospital on her own next time. She felt it was safer for both of them if she wasn't trapped in a small space with Regina again. Seeing the six-story building on the left Emma sighed happily.

'_We're here, thank god.'_ Emma jumped up and out of the car as soon as it stopped. If she was stuck in that car with that buzzing silence she was going to start singing and no one wanted that.

Regina grinned internally, _'was it something I said?'_

Regina realized as she stepped out of the car, locked the doors, and checked her makeup in the mirror that she hadn't been told why Emma was laughing before. Moving in step with the blonde Regina weighed her options as they neared the front of the hospital. The mechanical doors opened as she thought: _'To ask or not to ask…'_

"What was so funny in the car?" Regina asks as she leads Emma into the hospital and immediately down the right hallway to the elevator bay. They pass two guards as they walk by and each nod their head in Regina's direction before walking by them, leaving them be. As soon as they reach the elevators Regina presses the call button and waits for the elevator and for Emma to explain herself.

Emma sighs as she stand to Regina's left. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other awkwardly. "It was the seatbelt thing."

"What about the…'seatbelt thing'?"

"Well it seemed silly. You want one of my organs. Organ donors don't have to be living donors. The need for a seatbelt seemed to—it seemed more of a routine thing then a helpful measure." Emma shook her head and laughed cynically, "It'd have been easier for you to let me go flying out the windshield."

Regina blinked as she twisted her neck to truly look Emma over. Obviously the blonde was misinformed. "Organ donors, living or not, are rare. Only 35% of people waiting for a donor ever get the organ. Car accident victims unlike popular belief are not ideal donors. In 45% of cases the organs are viable and even if they are not everyone is a registered donor. Often times the organs of registered donors and unregistered donors have been damaged in the crash one way or another so it makes some vital organs unviable." Regina looked up at the ding the elevator made and stepped into the elevator. "So, no, it was best that you _**not**_ go flying through my windshield."

Emma huffed a laugh as she blinked at Regina, her mouth hanging open as she watched the Mayor's lip lift into a smirk. Shaking out of her stupor Emma stepped into the elevator. She made sure to stand a few inches away from Regina. Just in case.

'_In case what?'_ Emma asked herself. _'Just in case she has a needle in her purse that she plans to stick in my neck, knock me out, and drag me to an operating room to harvest my organs!'_ The panicking little voice inside her mind screamed, hyperventilating. Emma gulped and leaned against the wall, the farthest she could get from Regina.

The numbers went by quickly and they were on the sixth floor before anyone could drug or accuse anyone of planning to drug anyone. Regina had to keep back a snicker at Ms. Swan huddled behind her watcher her like a hawk.

The doors of the elevator opened and neither woman moved. Emma waited for Regina to step off first and Regina was waiting for Ms. Swan to disembark first. Regina waves her hand out in front of her as a clear, 'after you'. Emma shakes her head, "No, please I insist, after you."

Regina cocks an eyebrow before stepping out of the elevator. _'Really Ms. Swan…how droll of you.'_ Once outside she looks behind her to see Emma following dutifully. "Good, follow me this way." Regina leads Emma through an open loft type room. There are seats in one corner and nurses moving between rooms with glass walls. They walk to the back left of the floor where there are two women and one man looking over a sleeping patient's vitals. Regina knocks on the glass and the occupants except for the unconscious man look up.

Dr. Whale says something to the two women before handing them the chart he'd been holding. He steps out of the room and the door closes behind him as he slips his pen into his breast pocket. "Regina," He nodded to the Mayor. "You must be Ms. Swan." Connor extends his hand to the blonde.

Emma looked around the area and was pulled away from her observations by the sound of her name being said. Turning to the doctor she notices M.D. then C. Whale on his lab coat. "Dr. Whale." She grasped his hand and shook it firmly.

He smiled at Emma, glancing at Regina after he'd released the blonde's hand. "Why don't you ladies follow me to my office?" He extended his arm, corralling the two to his office which is directly down the hall from this section of the hospital.

"So, how many people know who I am?" Emma asked under her breath as she leaned towards Regina while they walked to Dr. Whale's office.

"Why, would you rather no one know who you are? Ashame…"

Emma immediately cuts in. She's not ashamed of being Henry's birth mother. "No, I just keep a low profile. I like to know who knows me." And what they know. It was easier to keep herself safe that way. "Why are you trying to put words in my mouth?" Emma hissed, stepping away from Regina so Dr. Whale could unlock the door to his office.

Once at his office, Connor unlocked the door and held it open for both women. His eyes stayed on and followed Emma into the room admiring the hug of her jeans. "Please, take a seat." Connor gestured to the two available seats in front of his desk as he took the seat behind it.

"So Doc," Emma leans forward in her seat right away, "Maybe you can answer some of my questions."

"Sure, of course." Connor leans back in his seat his hands lax on his desk. "What questions do you—"

"What does the kid have?"

Dr. Whale blinked, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Why does the kid…"

"Henry." Regina interrupted.

Emma rolled her eyes, "Why does _Henry_…need the transplant? What does he have? Illness wise? What organ am I giving up and how do you know I'ma match?"

Connor looked to Regina, confused. "What exactly…" He looked back to Emma, "…do you know, Ms. Swan?" Because it seemed like she didn't know anything at all.

"Besides that without this transplant Henry's going to die? Not much."

Dr. Whale turned accusing eyes back to Regina. For her part Regina put her hands on either arm of the small chair, crossed her legs, and leaned back, uncaring. She was trying to be as imposing as she could be. "There was very little time to explain much of anything, Dr. Whale. So please, be my guest, explain to Ms. Swan everything." _Better you than me._

Dr. Whale cleared his throat, knowing the Mayor's tone did not bode well for him. "Right, right. Well…to start." He pulled at his collar a little. "Henry has liver cancer. Rare in children but we found a small tumor on his liver. We did a biopsy of it and found it was malignant. It was cancerous. We started Henry on chemotherapy and then removed it. I diagnosed it as Hepatoblastoma."

Emma nodded suddenly having trouble swallowing. "How…uh how old?"

"He was six." Regina informed Ms. Swan, looking at the wall behind Connor's head rather than the woman sitting beside her. It was hard enough hearing Connor talk about this. It was like it was all happening right in front of her all over again.

Waking Henry up one morning for school and hearing him moan as he rolled around in bed complaining of a back ache, and an upset stomach. She had thought he just wanted to get out of going to school because he had a spelling test that he was nervous about. However she'd sat on the edge of the bed, touched his head to placate her own worry and his acting only to feel a fever. She asked him where his back hurt and where his stomach hurt. He was sore to the slightest touch on his stomach and said his lower back hurt. She let him stay home and called in sick for the day. She took his temperature and made him toast for his upset stomach. She laid with him in the living room watching his favorite cartoons as he snuggled with Mr. Brownie. Not an hour after eating it he'd gotten sick. She called his pediatrician and he told her that the stomach flu was going around and that it was probably just a 24 hour bug. He told her not to even bother coming in.

When the 24 hour bug didn't go away for 48 hours and Henry complained of more pain she took him to the hospital. Dr. Whale had been about to send Henry home when he did an exam of Henry's stomach and found it bloated and hard to the touch. He had an ultrasound done and a CAT scan. Four hours later he came back as Regina sat in Henry's bed with him reading him the book he had to read for homework. Dr. Whale had pulled her out of the room to tell her that they'd found a tumor on the scans. Regina can remember feeling like she was going to be sick at the word tumor. Dr. Whale said they needed to do a biopsy, and she had never expected it to come back cancerous. Never had she thought fate would be that cruel. She had looked into the room at Henry holding Mr. Brownie and reading the book to the stuffed bear in her absence and cursed Fate for being so cruel.

"Six…" Emma breathed blinking, unbelieving. "What…why do you still need me?"

"Uhmm…" Dr. Whale sighed, telling all of this to one distraught woman was one thing. Telling it to another was something new altogether. "We watched him for several months very closely. There were no signs of the tumor and he wasn't feeling ill. He was in what we call remission because two years later we found another tumor on a different portion of his liver. This one was a bit larger. We did another biopsy of course and then used chemo therapy to try and shrink it before we operated. We also took a bit of his liver out with the surgery as well. He was fine for a few months but when we tested the portion of the liver we had taken out we found cancerous cells in the tissue of the liver." Dr. Whale looked away nervously, playing with the folder on his desk for a moment, opening it and closing it. "I had been wrong. I diagnosed Henry with Hepatoblastoma when he actually had Hepatocellular carcinoma."

"What's the difference?" Emma asked, she could hardly even pronounce these words let alone wrap her mind around the fact that her kid HAD these cancers.

"Hepatocellular carcinoma is a rare disease but it's the most common primary cancer of the liver in children. It's when cancerous cells are found in the very tissue of a child's liver. It's usually found in children between the ages of one and fifteen. It usually presents itself around the child's twelfth birthday. So in theory we were lucky that we caught it so quickly. The only reason we did was because of the tumor pressing on Henry's stomach causing him a great deal of pain. But I had thought it to be hepatoblastoma because it only presented as a cancerous tumor. It is also more responsive to chemotherapy and surgery. Hepatocellular carcinoma is not. There wasn't anything to suggest that it went farther than the single tumor. At least not at that time. Not with the results we got back from the CBC, ultrasound, biopsy."

Regina still couldn't look at Connor or Ms. Swan. She was too busy grasping the arms of the chair until her knuckles turned white. She had been ready to murder the 'good doctor' when he told her that he had misdiagnosed her son. If they had known from the beginning that they were facing hepatocellular carcinoma they would have been looking for a donor sooner, doing more extensive chemotherapy—even though chemotherapy was not known to work well for this particular disease.

"So then how did you found out it was this Hepo-celular carcous-onoma…"

"Hepa-ta-cellular car-sin-oma." Regina annunciated for Ms. Swan.

"During one of one of Henry's check-ups we found that the tumors had spread to another part of his liver. Chemotherapy wasn't giving us the results we were hoping for. He cleared his throat, "After another surgery to remove the tumor on his liver it was decided that…"

Emma looked between Dr. Whale and Regina, "That…what? What?"

"There was nothing they could do. The cancer had metastasized, it had spread to his abdomen and they feared it would reach his lungs in a few weeks' time." Regina answered, her eyes distant. "They used the word…" Regina felt a blockage fill her throat that she forced away. "..the word."

"Terminal" Dr. Whale supplied, seeing Regina's hardship. "We tried to get Regina to accept that there was nothing else we could do…"

Emma turned to Regina and saw how tense she was, the muscle in her neck tight as the view bulged. "If-if he's…if there's nothing that can be done then…" _why am I here?_

"Oh no, he's in critical condition right now but there is hope."

Emma spun her head back to Dr. Whale. "How!" With all they were telling her, Henry had no chance in hell, but now he did? How? By what miracle?

"The chemo, extensive and a first attempt at a liver transplant. The tumors were removed and he was doing well with the transplant."

"But the cancerous cells had spread…" Emma whispered out of breathe as she leaned back in her seat. It was like riding a roller coaster with all these ups and downs.

"We used concentrated radiation with the chemotherapy and, honestly? It was a miracle it worked."

Then Emma realized something. "_**First attempt**_ at a transplant."

Connor nodded his head sadly, "He rejected it. The immunosuppressant didn't work. After three weeks he was showing signs of rejection. He rejected the partial transplant just two and a half weeks ago. Without another transplant he'll die. He has half a liver, which would be enough for someone who wasn't as susceptible to infection as he is right now and the fact is he needs another liver all together. We plan to take the remaining part of his liver out completely and give him half of…well yours."

Emma shook, nodded, and rolled her head around unsure what to do or say to this. "The match for the first transplant, they couldn't do it again so you went looking for me and the kid's…"

"_Henry_!" Regina bit out, tired of Emma referring to Henry as 'kid'. He had a name! She would not allow Emma to distance herself from Henry by not saying his name. She would say his name and know it and accept that she was now his only hope. It was the only way to ensure she did not run away. She could not skirt this particular responsibility. Regina would not let her.

"…father." Emma figured that out without their assistance. If they had just done the transplant a month and a half ago the other person's liver wouldn't have regenerated enough to be viable to give a full half. Emma wondered why they simply didn't just take Henry's liver out to begin with if it was so malignant. "How'd you get into my records? How do you know if I'm a match?"

Dr. Whale seemed uncomfortable and was busy looking at his desk instead of Emma's eyes. Seeing he wasn't going to answer Emma turned to Regina. "Well…?"

"I had a_…friend…_hack into your medical files. I found that in your, stay in—"

"Yeah…" Emma bit out. She knew where she was 'staying' where she would have gotten medical records from.

"You'd been injured."

Emma shuddered, yes she'd been injured. She'd gotten a shiv to her chest. Thankfully nothing major had been nicked. It was also right before she was released and right before she'd had Henry. She had to be given suppressants to keep her from going into labor during the traumatic experience. Emma didn't like to think about her time behind bars. Especially when she knew that attach had been orchestrated from the outside. It was why she was always on the move.

"You got my records from then, wonderful. So you can get closed adoption files AND adolescent criminal records."

"Criminal?" Dr. Whale asked, shocked.

"Juvie, Doctor. Wrongly convicted."

Emma was surprised to find the Mayor defending her, in a way at least. _'Where were you when I was facing those charges?'_

"Oh my apologies." He didn't seem very apologetic if Emma really thought about it. But at least now he wasn't looking at her breasts when he thought she wasn't looking.

"Yeah, that's why the files were sealed." That wasn't actually true. They were sealed because she served her time and was released. It was just a dig at the nosy Mayor. Who shouldn't have gone digging where she wasn't supposed to, to begin with!

"Point taken." Regina forfeited, for now. "Are there any other questions you would like answered?"

"Yeah, who was the person who gave up their liver the first time around? How are they doing? What exactly is going to happen after you take half my liver? What's the recovery time? Instructions and all that?"

"Why would you want to know who was the first donor?" Regina asked, looking sideways at Ms. Swan.

"Oh, I don't know because whoever it is gave up part of their organ to save m…your kid?" Emma replied, the 'duh' intoned.

"Those records are private. I'm sorry to say that I…"

"Oh please, if you won't tell me I'm sure if I go around asking someone around this town is going to give up the information. With the way everyone watches everyone else and gossips? The whole town has to know. So what's the harm in telling me in person now instead of me asking—"

"Her name is Ms. Blanchard." Regina gave, just to make her stop talking. "Mary Margaret Blanchard. She would be Henry's fourth grade school teacher if he attended the private school here in town."

"He's not going to school."

"No, obviously he cannot handle that, Ms. Swan. He has been home schooled for the last two years. It was…un-conducive to his recovery to be in school around sick children while his immune system was compromised."

"Right, right, so about that procedure and recover-hey wait a second…" Emma holds up her hand, "Mary Margaret? Short black hair, pale white skin? Kinda reserved and quiet?"

Regina's eyes widened, "Yes, how did you…?" Her brow furrowed.

"Met her this morning at Granny's Diner." Emma leaned back in her seat and stuck her hands into her jacket. "Small world."

"Small town," Dr. Whale supplied. The comment earned him a grin from Emma and a scowl from Regina.

"Quite…" Regina looked at Dr. Whale and noticed he was a bit nervous, more so than he had been a moment before. "I believe Ms. Swan asked about the procedure and the recovery time."

"Well there are still a few tests that we're going to have to run. I'm also going to have to ask you some questions, personal in nature, and once I've determined if it's best for everyone involved we'll schedule the surgery."

Regina glared. She didn't like the sound of 'best for everyone involved' and the way he stressed this fact.

"Great, so what kind of tests you gonna run doc? No time to be wasting, right?"

"No, no there isn't." Regina smiled at that, watching as Ms. Swan stood from her seat and waited for Dr. Whale to do the same. It comforted her to see how eager Ms. Swan suddenly was to get everything done that she needed to get done to help Henry. She stood up as well and followed the two out of the office.

"Regina, if you'd like you can go home and see Henry and then come back. These tests will most likely take up the rest of the afternoon."

Regina looked between Connor and Emma before nodding. She looked at her watch and saw it was nearly eleven. She promised Henry that she would be back for lunch today. She had been planning on bringing Connor along with her as well as Graham. Now, it seemed like she wouldn't need to bring the good doctor around. There might be hope left to cling to after all.

"Very well. Call my cell when you've finished. I will pick Ms. Swan up then."

"I can just call a cab or something." Emma offered, really not feeling like going anywhere in a car with Regina again.

"Nonsense. I will need to be here to review the results of the exams anyway so it will be no problem for me to drive you back to Granny's."

"Honestly Mayor I can just—"

Regina left no room for argument, "I will be back here after the exams and that is final Ms. Swan."

Emma pulled her hands up in surrender. "Alright, see you then. Tell the kid…"

"What, tell _**Henry**_ _what_, Ms. Swan?"

Emma shrugged, shrinking away at the ferocity of the woman in front of her. "Nothing, never mind."

Regina nodded pleased with that answer. She would not tell Henry anything Ms. Swan had to say. Not yet. "Call me when she is finished."

Dr. Whale offered a smile and a curt nod, "Of course."

Looking Ms. Swan over once more Regina turned and left the two standing in the hallway. She had a standing lunch date with her son to get to.

Emma and Dr. Whale both watched Regina leave. Once she was around a corner and they could no longer see her Emma turned to the good doctor. "So, we doing this or not?"

"Yes, yes, follow me."

**End Chapter Six**

So, what'd you think?


	7. Chapter Seven

**Author's Note: **Originally this chapter was supposed to be twice as long but due to a little hitch in the second half of this chapter I've cut it in half so now Chapter 7 is Lunch FOR Henry while Chapter 8 will be Lunch WITH Henry.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this story, review, favorite or put it on their alert list. It means a lot.

* * *

**Chapter 7  
**'_Lunch For Henry'_

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Regina pulled up to Granny's diner and parked in the back parking lot next to a rundown yellow Volkswagen. Grimacing at the old little car Regina leaned over the seat and grabbed her purse. Digging through the black bag she pulled out her iPhone and hit 2 and then send. The phone only rang three times before it was picked up.

"Hey Regina," There was another voice on the other end of the phone but Regina could not make out what was being said. "Where are you? What's your ETA?" Kathryn asked from the other end of the phone.

Regina rolled her eyes, "You have been spending far too much time with Graham. ETA?" Regina emphasized, enjoying the sound of Kathryn's laugh mingling with Henry's in the background. "I assume I am on speaker."

"Yes," Henry continued to giggle, "Hi mom!" It warmed Regina's heart to hear how excited Henry was, how joyful. "Where are you? You still coming home for lunch like you said?"

"Of course I am. I did give you my word after all."

"Great!" Regina knew that Henry was smiling.

"I have decided to give both Kathryn and I a break today, Henry. What would you both like from Granny's."

"Granny's!" Henry squealed and Regina could imagine him looking between Kathryn and the phone as if he'd just been told he could go out and play baseball again. Regina had not let Henry have Granny's for some time. He was on a strict diet and although he still was she knew that he could afford to have something from Granny's as well.

"Yes, Henry, Granny's. Must you make me repeat myself?" There was no irritation in Regina's tone, even if she did roll her eyes.

The laughter that came through the small speaker of her phone eased her mind. Henry knew her well enough to know she was joking with him. Had she not been her tone would have been far more harsh. "Can I have soup, yet?"

"You can have chicken broth with some chicken but no vegetables." Kathryn and Regina reminded the young boy at the same time.

"Ohhh…fine. Maybe…maybe some toast with Granny's homemade jam?"

"I shall see when she made it. If it was not made today then—"

"Not even from yesterday? She usually makes it at night on Sunday's. Today's Monday. Please…" Henry begged through the phone and Regina didn't have the heart to deny him this.

"Yes, well if she made it last night then you may have some toast with the jam on it. How is your stomach?" This question was directed more to Kathryn then it was to Henry.

Henry merely groaned, and Regina knew that it has been a rough morning for her son and yet somehow he seemed excited over something. What that something was Regina did not know. She had planned to talk to Henry about…about…Regina felt her throat close at just the thought of talking to Henry about what he would like to do for what would be the last few weeks of his life. Now, with Ms. Swan here, there was no need to have such a horrifying conversation.

"He's been fine for the last hour and a half. However after breakfast we had a bit of a reappearance." Kathryn let Regina know as softly as she could.

Regina sighed softly, knowing how tired Henry was of being unable to keep down the simplest of things. "Soup and some toast will not be such a bad idea then, would it?"

"No, the chicken broth would probably do him well. Some crackers as well but we already have plenty of those. The toast with no butter and only a scrape or two of the jam."

"See, mom! Even Nurse Kathryn thinks it's okay to have some of the jam."

"Yes well if Nurse Kathryn thinks it's alright who am I to object?"

"Well, you are the Mayor…"

"Nooo! Ms. Nolan…." Henry objected scandalized. "Traitor. You're supposed to be on my side. Don't go giving her any ideas she'll change her mind!" Henry objected horrified that Kathryn had seemingly betrayed him. The shock was clearly heard over the line, Regina could just picture his mouth falling slack before he pouted at Kathryn, who was a sucker for Henry's puppy dog eyes.

"_She_ is the cat's mother." Regina reminded with the age old saying.

Kathryn laughed while Henry grumbled on the other end of the phone. "Graham called as well, Gina. He will be a bit late so he said not to wait for him to start eating."

"Oh, something wrong?" That she should be made aware of? She'd been going easy on Sherriff Graham for the last two years, like she had for everyone. Her attention span was split unequally on the town matters and her personal matters with Henry. She'd hate to see that anyone was taking advantage of that like some had last year. Those who had had been dealt with swiftly.

"No, nothing that he said was a big concern. Something about Mr. Gregson and Mrs. Cole arguing about property lines again."

"Those two will never stop bickering over that fence, will they?"

Kathryn sighed, "I guess not. I'm just glad that Mr. Franklin hasn't ever complained about my overgrown bushes."

"Well, he wouldn't, now would he?" The edge in her voice made it clear that if Mr. Franklin ever saw fit to try and cause any form of trouble for Kathryn he'd find himself subjected to very uncomfortable interviews with both Graham and her.

"Regina, he's a seventy year old man who has an obsession with lawn knombs."

"Which in and of itself is…"

"…creepy!" Henry chimed in. Regina was almost startled to hear his voice; she hadn't realized he was still there.

"Henry!" Kathryn scolded, even while Regina refrained. She couldn't agree more with her son. Mr. Franklin was a bit of a creepy old man that resembled a gremlin…probably because his mother had been part gremlin.

"Whether Mr. Franklin is creepy or not is up for debate. However that is a debate we shall need to have at another time. Kathryn, what may I get you for lunch?"

"Oh, you don't have to get me-"

"Kathryn…"

The woman sighed, "BLT on whole wheat bread, toasted, no mayo."

"There, was that so hard?" Regina inquired as she grabbed her purse and opened the car door but did not leave the vehicle just yet.

"No I suppose not. So we should expect you in…?"

"Twenty minutes."

"Awesome! See you soon then mom."

Kathryn and Regina both waited a moment. "He's doing well but he's very tired. He's also hungry but he was afraid to eat anything after getting sick. I'm surprise he was even able to sound as excited as he was. He wasn't well enough to do lessons today." Kathryn confided in her friend and employer. Henry was safely tucked away back in the living room nestled in his favorite recliner with Mr. Brownie and a cartoon on. "His fever's back and I put a shot of antibiotics in his IV drip this morning. It should help with the fever but it'll make him a little bit more nauseas."

Regina sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. This was the second day in a row that Henry had been unable to keep down his breakfast. However he usually did better with lunch and it varied with dinner. "I'd hate to have to put him back on a fluids only diet." Then again if the surgery were to take place soon he would need to be on a no solids diet for 36 hours before the surgery.

"Let's not jump the gun. We'll see how he does with lunch and dinner tonight. If he can't keep anything down then we'll move him to apple sauce and Jell-O again. How uhm…is Dr. Whale coming to join us?" Kathryn's voice was nothing but a whisper with her question about Dr. Whale.

Regina couldn't help the hopeful smile that spread across her face, "No, Dr. Whale is busy with a patient at the hospital today. There is no need for him to join us until later. The conversation we will be having with Henry today has also changed in topic."

"OH?" Kathryn sounded surprised and Regina could tell, hopeful, just like she was.

"Yes, it appears that Ms. Swan is not as heartless as I believed her to be."

"You mean she's gotten in touch with you? She'll do the transplant?" The excitement was hardly contained on Kathryn's end, but Regina was glad for it. She herself hadn't allowed herself to feel that relieved excitement just yet, it would be nice to live vicariously through Kathryn's. For now.

"Better than just getting in touch with me, Kathryn. She has arrived in Storybrooke. She is currently occupying Dr. Whale's time running some tests to ensure that all is well for the transplant."

Kathryn was silent for several seconds. Regina knew this news was shocking to the other woman; it had shocked her as well. "She's…you mean…what does...oh my god Regina that's amazing! If she's here and everything turns out okay then the transplant can happen no later than Saturday if all checks out and—"

"Kathryn…"

"If the transplant is successful then Henry will only need to go to checkups and we'll be even more vigilant about the immunisopresants but with the transplant coming from his mother it will be less of a chance of rejection…"

"Kathryn…"

"Especially if Dr. Whale decides to do the bone marrow injection as well. It will lessen the chance of rejection by 78%...it's uncommon but with what happened last time…"

"Kathryn!" Regina stopped the other woman from hyperventilating with all the possibilities. "We will tell Henry about Emma's appearance. We will not tell him about the possibility of a transplant until after Dr. Whale has assured us that such a procedure will be taking place."

"Right, right, of course, I'm sorry I just got—"

"I understand." Yes, she understood more than anyone could imagine. "Please refrain from telling Henry anything until I return home. I would still like it if you and Graham are present during this conversation."

It would be hard to tell Henry that his biological mother was in town. She had been forced to tell Henry about his adoption when he was seven years old. One of the nurses had spoken out of turn about how she was not a match for his blood type and the smart boy that he was wanted to know how that could be. He had never thought to question whether or not he had been born from her 'tummy' until that day. Henry had asked about his biological mother but for the most part and afterwards he had been very distant from her.

Regina had been devastated when he pulled away from her and would rather talk to Kathryn or Graham instead of her. It was when she invested in Henry's sessions with Dr. Hopper. The sessions helped a great deal, whatever animosity that Henry had felt towards her for adopting him, not having told him, and being unable to help him in his time of need had been addressed quickly and hopefully would save mother and son many years of possibly hostility.

"Of course. We'll see you soon."

"Yes, you will." Regina hung up and took a deep breath. Praying to whichever deity might be listening to grant her this miracle, to ensure the health of her son. He deserved so much more than what he had been given here. She wanted to give him the world and she could hardly give him ten years of life.

Locking the door she pulled her purse against her chest and stepped out of the car. Walking into Granny's she noticed there was a small lunch rush scattered around the tables. Granny was behind the counter looking over some books while Ruby and Claire split the tables in half. Regina didn't bother taking a seat, she went right to the register to place her order. Regina only needed to wait a minute before Ruby was behind the counter offering a smile, nervous as it might be.

"Afternoon Mayor, how can I help you today?"

"Good afternoon Ruby. I need a takeout order, as fast as the chefs can make it."

Ruby nodded, pen and pad in hand. "Sure thing. What can I get you?"

"I need a B.L.T. on whole wheat bread, toasted, no mayo." Ruby 'uh huhed' as she wrote it down. "A grilled chicken salad with your light Caesar dressing." Another head bob before Ruby looked up to meet Regina's eyes. "And your chicken brother, only a small amount of chicken, NO vegetables." Ruby swallowed, nodding. She knew who _**that**_ order was for. "Also, white bread lightly toasted with a scrape or two of your grandmother's homemade jam. ONLY if it was made within the last 24 hours and not more than two spreads."

"It was made last night. Is…?"

"That's fine."

Ruby nodded, wrote down the order and then dared to ask, "How ah, how is Henry?" Ruby was as gentle as she could be with the question.

Regina once would have taken offense to the innocent question. Her ire would rise for no reason at all, but not now. Ruby had never meant harm in asking after Henry. No, Ruby was genuinely concerned and curious. Ruby and Granny had been two of Henry's constant visitors while he was in the hospital. The two Wolfs' were two of a good half dozen that always visited Henry in the hospital. Mary Margaret, Ashley, Kathryn, Graham and even _Mr. Gold_ visited Henry while staying overnight for procedures or exams.

Regina had never been comfortable with Mr. Gold visiting Henry. She made sure that whenever Gold went to visit the nurse stayed in the room and called her. He was never allowed to be with Henry alone. As scared as everyone in town was of Gold, no one wanted to face her when she was protecting her son. Her wrath would be swifter and harder than even Mr. Gold could deliver.

Graham and Kathryn related Regina to a mamma bear and a lioness. They still hadn't come up with a moniker that they liked best in combining the two animals together. She dreaded the day that they did.

"He's…doing as good as can be expected."

Ruby sighed, seeing the frown lines around Regina's mouth as she commented on Henry's health. "I'll make sure to put a rush on this." Ruby held up the slip of paper as he walked briskly to the kitchen.

"Thank you." Regina whispered as she looked down at the counter. Her thoughts consumed by the possible futures that she and Henry were faced with.

What if's were how she once lived. There needed to be contingency plans, plan B's while an Evil Queen. When battling against the 'light' a woman like her had to be prepared. There was a slight snag here. In this world there was no magic to fall back on. No potions or spells that could save the day at the last second. She'd already given up the last of her magic, the last relic of her old life, to give Henry a partial miracle.

Regina's hand moved to her neck where there no longer was a simple chain with a ring dangling from it. Daniel, her lover, the love of her life, had given her so many years ago had never left that chain that dangled it above her heart. It hadn't left until she'd needed the magic that remained attached to it. The pain of giving up one love to save her new love hadn't even been a conscious decision. It had been simple. There was no pain…not until after she realized what she had given up to save her son.

She loved Daniel. Had loved him with an innocence and purity that she no longer contained. She was far from the innocent and her purity had been tainted red and then black long before she had even come to Storybrooke. Daniel would always be her true love, but Henry was her happy ending.

There should have been a whole in her heart, a consequence of the curse. For the longest time it had seemed like nothing could fill the void Maleficent warned her of when she stole back Rumpelstiltskin's curse. She was right. Damn that blonde haired fairy, she had been right. There had been years where Regina could feel nothing at all. No anger or pain, no hatred or despise. In all those years though she had felt a burning, a flame inside her that longed for something she didn't have. For the longest time she thought the longing had been for Daniel, for further revenge, but what was there to take revenge on here: A poor meek woman who had nothing but her job and a scattering of friends?

No, even Regina could not bring herself to harm Mary Margaret any more than she already had. Everything Snow had ever wanted, had ever loved, was taken from her. The joy she thought she'd feel in that never came. How could she feel joy over it? Mary Margaret was content in her life because she did not even realize all that she had lost. A side effect of the curse she had not considered.

It seemed ironic that she realized what she was missing while she passed the private school here in town and watched as Mary Margaret waved to the children leaving her for their parents. It was the same thing that had been missing when she went to the White Castle and found Snow cradling James…not a child, a daughter, a little girl.

Regina spent years searching for the young Princess that had escaped through that blasted wardrobe. It did not matter that the child was meant to destroy her. How could she leave that little girl alone? Punishment to Snow was one thing but that child had been innocent. That child was Regina's second chance at a happy ending. What better revenge than to raise the child of her enemy right in front of her?

Regina had only given up on ever finding that little girl when she would have been too old. Too much time had passed, sixteen years to be exact, not that time moved relatively well here in Storybrooke. It was after those sixteen years that Regina began considering adoption of another child, a male child. With Gold's help she adopted Henry only two weeks after he'd been born. There had been a worry that Henry would be a crack baby, or addicted to any number of illegal drugs as his mother had been incarcerated while pregnant. When he passed all his blood tests she'd been able to adopt him and with him the burning longing faded.

It did not disappear completely. There was still something wrong. The happiness and joy she felt at watching Henry take his first steps or the astonishment and elation she'd felt when he first called her mom or pride when he went to the bathroom all on his own…wasn't right. There was something wrong with it. She felt it but…almost as if she felt it from a distant, like she was sharing someone else's happiness or pride. It was in those moments that she realized how deeply this curse affected her. She would never truly be happy because she didn't have the ability to be so.

It was why when she was questioned about her love for Henry, how she raised him, she became incensed. It was like Mary Margaret could tell that something was _**wrong**_ with her even when it was impossible for her to _know_. It hadn't been until Henry had become ill, and the fierceness she had always held and tried to contain deep within herself while here in Storybrooke was released. She damned everyone and everything for this misfortune but she also strove longer and harder than anyone thought she could to find Henry a cure. She sat with him until the sun rose in an uncomfortable chair and held his hand to keep away the nightmares. She canceled meetings and sent her regards to those functions she had never once missed before. She cried at night when no one could hear her over the pain her son felt and pain she could not take from him. She went to work bleary eyed and exhausted and still ran Storybrooke to a T even though she had two full time jobs with her responsibilities to the town and to Henry.

It was when Regina even began to say she would not run for Mayor in the next election that people really started to realize how devoted she was to her son, as if everything she'd ever done before Henry had become sick hadn't mattered. She wanted more than anything to love Henry and when she gave up Daniel for Henry she knew that she did. She loved Henry more than she could ever imagine loving anyone…even with the whole and darkness still wrapped around her heart. Henry had snuck his way into her heart and she'd be damned if she ever let him out.

"Madame Mayor?"

Regina snapped her head to see Granny standing at the register, Ruby behind her with two plastic bags, one with two brown paper bags inside it and the other white containers. "Ye…" Regina cleared her throat, "Yes?"

"Are you alright?" Granny asked gently. Regina recoiled, of course she was alright why wouldn't she be alright! "It's just…" Granny continued, "You're crying."

Regina blinked and brought her hands up to her face, shocked to feel tears on her cheeks. Clearing her throat again she turned away from where some of the patrons were staring at her, her back to them as she wiped at her cheeks. She was mortified. She hadn't even realized she'd been crying…in public!

Granny quickly offered her a napkin that she used to wipe away the remnants of her tears. Thankfully her mascara hadn't run and her makeup was intact. She nodded her thanks to the older woman, "I…I don't know what came over me." Of course she did, she just wasn't about to admit it to anyone.

Granny looked sympathetically at her. If there had been an ounce of pity in her look Regina was sure she would have decapitated the woman…verbally of course. However there was true sympathy in the woman's eyes and understanding. Granny knew better than anyone the pain of watching someone you love, your own child, suffer—in this life and in their last.

"Your food…" Ruby offered, hoping to break the tension as she put the bags down in front of Regina and offered a smile.

"Thank you, how much do I owe you?" Regina asked as she pulled out her wallet and waited for a price.

"Nothing." Regina and Ruby both looked at Granny a bit shocked. "It's on the house."

"No, that's, I am more than capable of paying for this."

"Oh, I know you are and trust me I won't be doing this often." Granny agreed with Regina even as she pushed the bags a little bit further towards the Mayor. "But consider it an apology."

"Apology?" Regina had no idea what Granny had to be sorry for.

"Yes, for whatever trouble Ms…" Granny stumbled realizing she didn't know Emma's last name, "Emma has given you."

"You know about…her?"

Ruby dropped her head, she'd hoped that Emma hadn't been the cause of the Mayor's troubles but she'd never seen Regina cry. In the last four years not once had she seen Regina cry. She knew the woman did cry because she'd sometimes see her with bloodshot eyes and red rims around them but she'd never witnessed it. Until today.

"She asked where your office was. I gave her directions. If I knew she would have caused you trouble I never would have sent her your way. You don't need any more stress than you already have. I'm sorry if she did something."

Regina stood staring, shocked to her core at how eager Ruby and Granny seemed to be to help her. Or wish to make up for not helping her. "She hasn't caused me trouble…well much trouble." Regina admitted with a shake of her head at the thought of the blonde. "I do appreciate your offer but I feel I would be taking advantage of you if I did not at least pay something."

Granny wasn't sure she believed Regina hadn't had more trouble with Ms. Swan. "Very well. Ten dollars."

Regina rolled her eyes but took out the ten and another one from her wallet. She pushed that across the countertop to Ruby. "Thank you, Madame Mayor." The brunette took the bill before her Grandmother could tell her otherwise.

"You're welcome Ruby. Don't be afraid to send people to my office. I'm hardly there as it is. Judy is more than capable of handling anyone I cannot." She grinned, "Not that I can't handle anyone." The nervous smiles from both Wolf women made Regina calm, she hadn't lost her touch. Her smirk could still strike fear into those she needed it to. "Have a pleasant day."

Regina left to both women offering her a good day as well. With a softening smile on her face, Regina knew that today would be a good day. It had to be.

**END CHAPTER SEVEN**


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter 8  
**'_Lunch With Henry'_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"She's home!" Henry heard called out from the hallway. He'd asked Kathryn to watch for his mom. She was late. It was five minutes past the time she said she would be home. That wasn't like his mother. Kathryn had tried to insist he not worry so much that it would just make him sicker but it didn't work. He was still worried. He sat in his favorite recliner with Mr. Brownie snuggled up against the side of the chair, his legs curled up behind him. The foot rest of the recliner wasn't even up because he was still able to fit on the seat itself.

Henry's eyes brightened as he waited for his mother to come in to greet him. She'd ask him where they were going to have lunch. It used to be that they had to eat at the kitchen table or dining room table no matter what but now she let him decide. He could eat in here while listening to music—she drew the line at watching television—or they could eat at the kitchen table or dining room table.

He was glad that his mom always came to him now because he didn't have enough energy to go say hello to her in the front hall and then walk back here to the living room only to walk somewhere else later. He saved his energy for what was important; like his needed trips to the bathroom. He hated throwing up into the basin that sat at the side of the recliner more than he hated doctor's appointments. And he _really_ hated doctor's appointments.

Henry offered a small tired smile as his mother walked into the living room. The smell from the bag she held made his stomach turn even as it growled. That, sadly, was the norm for him. He was hungry but he wasn't sure if he could keep anything down.

The food smelled delicious, it reminded him of the Sunday breakfasts he used to have every week with his mom. He liked those Sundays. They'd do whatever her wanted for the day. It was the one day a week that he never had to share his mom with anyone. They'd go to Granny's for breakfast and sometimes even lunch but then they'd come back home because even while off duty there was always something or someone that needed his mom's attention. Sundays were _**his**_ day. They still were, even if he had a doctor's appointment or wasn't feeling well. It was just him and his mom. Unless _he_ asked for Graham or nurse Kathryn to join them.

Today wasn't Sunday though and today wasn't his day alone with his mom. Today was just another weekday. He knew it was a special one though. He could tell. His mom was going to tell him that it was **time**.

They had talked about it once before.

He was a smart kid, everyone said so. He could read people well. He knew the deeper meanings to certain actions, meanings that other kids missed sometimes.

When things had gotten bad.  
Really bad_.  
__Worse_ than when he'd caught pneumonia that one winter, he had asked his mom if it was time.

She hadn't understood what he was talking about. He was coming in and out of consciousness. He was weak. His voice soft. Softer than a whisper. He forced a smile. He stared into his mom's eyes and took her hand.

And he asked her if it was time for him to leave. 'The hospital?' she'd asked. He'd shook his head and stared at her, his eyes trying to find something in her very soul. She whimpered a broken sob as she realized what he was talking about.

Death. Was it time for him to die, to go to heaven? Was it time to stop fighting and finally rest?

She told him that it wasn't time. That it wasn't his time. She promised that when it was his time, when it was time to stop, she'd tell him. He made her swear on her favorite thing in the world, (he'd thought it was her car, he never realized she'd sworn it on his life) that if the time came that he had to stop fighting came, she'd tell him to his face. She made the promise. She swore on her favorite thing in the world and he'd fallen asleep. He fell asleep to the sound of her promises that if it was time, she'd tell him and the gentle swipe of her thumb moving back and forth across his hand. She'd sobbed, without tears, and held his hand and rested her head on his shoulder for a long time after that.

Today was going to be the day that she told him it was _time._ He could tell. The way she had looked at him last night, the way she had cried in her sleep, he sighed. It was time. She just didn't know how to tell him but she'd promised him that she would. So she was going to tell him. He'd hoped that, well he'd hoped that the savior would come but she wasn't here and it was time. He wasn't afraid. Not anymore. He was ready. Ready for whatever the future held for him.

Except, she was smiling. She was giving him a bright smile as she made her way into the living room with the bag of food. Nurse Kathryn took the bag from her hands so she could come and sit next to him. That…didn't make sense. He watched her carefully, wondering what was going on.

"Hello dear, how are you feeling?" He sighed exasperated; she always asked that even when she already knew the answer. Nurse Kathryn would give her updates on how he was feeling every day, every two hours on the hour. Still, he always answered her because he knew she was worried and wanted to hear how he was doing from him. Not someone else.

"Tired and achy. I was able to keep down breakfast though." He watched her smile widen, if that were possible, and followed her as she sat on the arm of the recliner he was resting in. She leaned over and gave his forehead a kiss, her hand sifting through his spiky practically none existent hair.

He'd had most of his hair shaved off before the transplant with Ms. Blanchard because he'd been losing it with the chemotherapy. It had started to grow back a little since the surgery though. Sadly with the new rounds of chemo started up again he knew he was probably going to lose it again.

He didn't mind so much. Not anymore. The first time he saw the hair on his pillow he was okay. The doctor had explained his hair would start to fall out, but that it was a good thing because then they knew the medicine, chemo, was working. He was young enough to believe the doctor who'd only been trying to make him feel better, to feel hopeful.

It wasn't until he was losing more and more hair by the day and the tumors weren't shrinking or they kept coming back that he'd been upset. He'd cried and thrown a fit worthy of a gold medal. He pulled out his IV, threw the IV pole with the bags of antibiotic and fluids to the ground, tore off the wires attached to his chest and even pushed his mom off the side of the hospital bed. He'd been so angry he'd pushed her right off the edge, she hadn't been expecting it and fell roughly to the ground but he hadn't cared, hadn't apologized. The nurses rushed in when his monitors 'flat-lined', so did Ruby and Ms. Blanchard who'd been there to visit him.

It was a fit he wasn't proud of. Not at all. He could still remember the heartbroken look on his mom's face as she stared up at him from the floor. The nurses were going to sedate him when she'd stood up and pushed them away from him. She had the scariest look on her face that he'd ever seen. She wouldn't let the nurses even consider 'sedating him like some animal'; her words exactly.

He hadn't seen how she was just trying to protect him. To give him this tantrum to let out his emotions and his fear and anger. He was just so angry all the time back then. He screamed at his mom the whole time. He told her it was her fault he was sick, her fault he wasn't getting better. He told her that he hated her.

And still, still, she went to him, let him beat against her chest, shoulders and even let him kick and slap her. She didn't let go of him. She wrapped her arms around him and told him how much she loved him, how sorry she was and how she promised to make this right. He'd calmed down enough to let the nurses and doctor's put back his IV and the heart monitor wires. All the while he clung to his mom and cried against her shoulder.

It wasn't long after that day that he started having regular sessions with Dr. Hopper.

That had been the first time he realized that he might not get one of the fairytale happily ever after endings like the people in Ms. Blanchard's books. It was also the ready why Ms. Blanchard presumably brought his new favorite book in to read to him instead. This book had different endings, deeper in-depth stories where good and evil both won sometimes. He liked this book more than the others because it seemed more real. In it bad things happened to good people and sometimes those bad things never went away, never got better. But in others? In others things got better, so much better.

"Well I have your toast."

"With jam?"

"Fresh homemade jam." Kathryn announced as she walked into the living room with a tray full of their food.

"You sounded just like Granny…" Henry giggled, even as he sat up straight knowing the tray was going to be put over the arms of his recliner so he could eat here.

"Well thank you, thank you…" Nurse Kathryn bowed her head as if she were doing so for an audience. Then again, Henry thought he was a pretty decent audience since he even applauded and laughed at the theatrics.

His mom kissed his forehead again, rolling her eyes at their antics, before she stood up and let nurse Kathryn put the tray across the arms of the chair just like he knew she would. He scrunched his nose up at the salad and the sandwich with bacon on it. He hadn't had bacon in a long time and the smell of it made him sick to his stomach more so than a lot of other foods.

Both women took their lunches off the tray quickly, putting them down on the coffee table which they both kneeled in front of. His mom refused to buy snack tables, preferring that they either eat their meals in the kitchen at the counter or table or in the dining room. The trays were for special occasions when they wished to have breakfast in bed or they had been before.

Sipping slowly at his chicken broth he kept a close eye on the two women. Their conversation was simple. They talked about what the plans were for the rest of the week, how his mom wasn't going to be going into the office tomorrow and the upcoming elections for Mayor.

"So the election is coming up pretty soon. Any rumors about an opponent this time?"

"No, I think after the fiasco with Leroy that my office is safe."

"Oh that had been rather entertaining. Everyone truly thought he was going to stake a claim for a ballot. He slurred about it enough at Mikes." Nurse Kathryn shook her head as she grinned over the shared remembrance.

He couldn't remember a time when his mom wasn't the Mayor of Storybrooke and he figured that was because no one ever ran against her. No one here knew any different. Who else would be up to the job? Henry couldn't really think of anyone off the top of his head but then again he already knew why no one else ever ran against his mom.

He nibbled on his toast and jam, he'd finished almost all of the broth and was enjoying his treat as the topic moved away from politics and work towards medical things. He should have known it would go from one boring topic to the next. He played close attention to his mom as they talked about her supposed meeting with Mr. Whale, looking for any clue, any hint of what was to come. Instead of focusing on the meeting with Dr. Whale and explaining what the good doctor told her during the meeting like she always did she talked about how on the way to the hospital she nearly hit Charley Dalton with her car.

Odd. Usually after a solo visit to Dr. Whale he was learning what he could and couldn't do until his next checkup, which was now scheduled for tomorrow.

"Oh my, is…" Nurse Kathryn gasped at the news of his mom's near miss.

"He was fine. Carla was more shaken up then he seemed to be."

"Well, thank goodness, he's alright." Nurse Kathryn truly seemed relieved over the turn of events. Henry was too, even if he was having a little trouble picturing who Charley Dalton was.

There was a knock at the door. "Who's that?" Henry wondered if he should have been expecting someone else.

"That should be Graham." Nurse Kathryn grinned as he hid his smile behind his toast. The way her eyes lit up at just the thought of seeing her boyfriend sometimes made him want to gag, but today it just seemed nice. He chanced a look at his mom and saw her roll her eyes as Kathryn stood up to get the door.

"Don't touch those dishes!" Kathryn warned from the doorway, stopping his mom cold in her half bent over position of grabbing up their dishes from lunch.

"She caught you." Henry giggled as his mom turned her head to give him a wink and a conspiratorial smirk.

"Well if she asks, you brought them inside."

He crossed his heart as he watched her leave the room with everyone's dishes except his tray and plate for the toast he was still munching on.

"Well, hello there young master Henry." Graham greeted as he stepped into the room. Henry noticed that Graham was almost as uncomfortable while in this house as Ms. Blanchard and Ms. Blanchard was hardly ever in the house for longer than a half an hour. Usually just to drop something off for him, chat, and then rush off because his mom made her nervous. His mom made a lot of people nervous. The only person who wasn't as nervous around his mom as everyone else was Kathryn—she'd stopped being nervous around mom around the time she practically moved into the house—and Mr. Gold.

"Sherriff! Did you bring me anything?" He asked as he noticed the brown drug store bag held in the Sherriff's hands.

"Henry!" Regina admonished as she stepped into the room dish free.

"What's this?" Nurse Kathryn asked as she pointed to the empty coffee table.

"An antique coffee table. I can show you where to buy one of your own, dear, if you'd like?"

"Hardy har har…" Nurse Kathryn rolled her eyes as she sat down on the loveseat across from the couch and recliner. "Save it Mayor. I'm on to you."

"Did you hear that Watson? She's on to us." Regina gasped, a hand grasping her shirt above her heart as the other pressed the back of her palm against her forehead in exaggeration.

"Hey, how come I'm Watson?" Henry complained.

His mom squeezed his shoulder before taking the seat on the couch closest to his chair. "I'm sorry dear. You can be Sherlock next time."

Henry shrugged, turning back to Graham who was still standing a bit awkwardly at the far end of the coffee table. "So, did you get me anything?" he asked again with his biggest charming smile.

"Henry…" His mom complained again.

"What, he has something from the drug store. Usually that means it is medicine or something cool for me."

"He does have a point, Regina."

"That is beside the point."

"I think that it's exactly the point. At least for Henry. Did you even notice that Graham was carrying something?"

"Of course I did."

"And when you saw it what did you think it was?"

His mom glared as Nurse Kathryn stole a glance at him to wink. He just finished off his toast while his mom and her best friend—because Kathryn was her best friend—bickered.

"I thought that it was something for Henry." His mom finally conceded.

Henry grinned as Kathryn leaned back against the back of the couch, as if to say, I rest my case.

"Uhh, hmm…" Graham cleared his throat as he stiffly stepped up to Henry on his recliner and passed his the brown bag. "I hope this is the one you wanted."

Henry took the comic out of the bag slowly and gasped at the cover. He pulled the entire bag against his chest and nodded his head, "Yes, yes it is. Oh this is awesome! Mom look…" Henry held out the comic to show his mom the colorful display of Ultimate Comics: X-Men.

"That's great, Henry." His mom offered a wide smile, even as the slight crease across her forehead told him she had no idea why this was such a great present. He sighed, not everyone could be a comic book fan. It wasn't one of the originals but it was the extended story arc after Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man series where Spider Man died in the final battle against Norman Osborn.

"Thanks Sherriff Graham!" Henry would have stood up and offered the Sherriff a big hug if he could. Hopefully his smile portrayed that.

"No problem bud. Let me know if it's any good."

"I will. I promise." He didn't waste any time, he opened the comic book to start reading right there.

"Henry, there's something that we need to talk about before you read that. Sherriff Graham doesn't have a lot of time before he goes back to the station." His mom began as she put a hand over his arm lowering the comic book.

He looked from his mom to the first page and then sighed. Wondering if he could somehow convince his mom to let him read this first. Seeing her incline her head a little and hold his gaze he knew he wasn't going to get to read this before they had a 'family' meeting. They didn't call them family meetings but Henry did. They might as well be called family meetings since Nurse Kathryn and Sherriff Graham were as integral to him as his mom sometimes. He closed the comic book and put it on his lap.

Nurse Kathryn took the lunch tray into the kitchen, giving him a minute along with his mom as Sherriff Graham followed her.

"It's about the test results, isn't it?" Henry asked softly, looking down at his fingers. His moms fingers moved across his own and grasped his hand gently. Looking up into her eye he didn't see the same sadness that he'd seen when Dr. Whale read off his numbers at his last appointment.

"In a way, yes it is about the test results."

He nodded, biting his bottom lip as he looked down at his lap. "Is it about your trip?"

There was a pause, "Yes, it is about my trip."

He squeezed his eyes closed. "You couldn't find her."

The sound of his mom gasping didn't surprise him. He wasn't supposed to know why she had left or where she had gone, but he did. He'd seen the directions to Boston left up on the computer browser the morning after she'd left. What had surprised him was the name of the woman his mom was looking for. Before the surgery he had asked Ms. Blanchard for a favor. He had asked for her help in finding his birth mother. He'd planned on going to find her and bring her back to Storybrooke himself. That was before. He'd hoped the transplant would be successful and he could bring her to Storybrooke to break the curse. But the transplant didn't go as well as they'd all hoped. He'd gotten her name.

Emma. Emma Swan.

It was the same name that was left on the post it on the desk. No, his mom hadn't left the post it there. But she'd written so hard on the top post-it that she'd left an indention of the name on the post-it beneath it.

"Henry…"

"I know you went looking for my birth mother." He admitted as he looked up with only his eyes to judge his mom's reaction to his words. "I looked her up before the surgery. I wanted to go and find her."

"You…I…how…" The devastation was clear upon his mom's face and he just wanted to make it go away. She'd had enough heartbreak in her life, a lot of it caused by him, she didn't need any more of it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset. It wasn't anything bad. I just wanted to meet her. I thought, I thought that if she met me that…that maybe she'd stay."

Regina stood up slowly from the couch, her back to Henry as she did. She didn't move far though, only a step away from him.

"Mom, I'm sorry!" He felt tears burn his eyes as he watched his mom's shoulders slump. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything bad by it. I just wanted to meet her. I wanted her to know me…just in case." His shoulders fell in the same manner as his mom's had.

_Just in case…just in case…_

He didn't see his mom slowly turn around to look at him, her eyes glassy as she stared softly at him, her hands unclenching slowly at her side. _Just in case…_

Her eyes closed for a moment and she took a deep breath. She had to accept that her son had gone looking for his birth mother. Whatever the underlying intentions were, he was aware that she had gone to see Ms. Swan, and he believed that she had not found her.

A part of her wanted to tell Henry that she had found Ms. Swan, that she'd begged the woman to come to Storybrooke with her to help him, and that she had refused. That she had left empty handed and completely destroyed in the wake of her failure. She wanted to make Ms. Swan seem like the selfish woman she had been. Not a woman to idolize or want to meet and to stay here and be a part of their lives.

"I, Henry its alright." Regina assured as efficiently as she could. It would be alright. This was something that she would need to speak with him about in detail, later. How could he know his birth mother's name? It had taken her a great deal of digging and a few favors to even have the records unsealed. What kind of resources did a ten year old boy have to grant him the knowledge before her?

"Is it…?" Henry asked his voice broken by his whimper.

"Yes, it's alright." Regina sat on the edge of his chair once again and pulled him against her and held him close, soothing him. "I'm not angry. I'm just surprised, and…" She swallowed, "…a little hurt. No," She stopped him from commenting or trying to explain his motives again. "No, I trust you, dear." She trusted that he had never meant to hurt her in actively looking for his birth mother.

_Just in case…_

The words echoed in her mind as she dropped her nose to the top of Henry's head. She missed the way he used to smell. There was something about his scent now that lacked the…brightness and excitement, the life, it'd once had before.

"That is something I also wish to speak with you about."

Henry sniffed as he used the back of his hand to wipe away the tears from his cheeks. "Ye..ah..?" He hiccupped a little.

"Yes." Regina took a moment to collect her thoughts. "One thing at a time."

"Okay…"

"First, we have a newly scheduled appointment for you tomorrow morning with Dr. Whale."

Henry nodded. That wasn't something he didn't expect. He had been getting worse up until today, today was one of his good days. To have another appointment made sense to him. "Second, my trip was to Boston seeking out your birth mother."

"Did you find her?" He asked his eyes lighting up, the tiniest amount.

Regina looked to the side, away from his shining eyes. She heard Kathryn suck in a deep breath from behind her. Chancing a look over her shoulder she saw Kathryn and Graham standing in the doorway looking at them. Graham's hand on Kathryn's lower back.

"Yes, I found her." Regina answered as she turned back to Henry.

"You did? Is she here? What did she say? Can I meet her? What's…"

Regina raised a single hand up and Henry's questions quieted and then stopped all together. He looked between Regina's hand to her face, wiggling in his seat in anticipation. "We will discuss whether or not you can meet with her." Now she felt more reservations about allowing the two to meet knowing Henry was so interested in doing so. "With the close adoption there are, well there will need to be a new contract written between the two of us that will allow her visitation rights to see you." If she even wanted them. When it came to Ms. Swan Regina wasn't sure of anything.

"Oh, well okay cool!" Henry didn't really understand why there needed to be a contract written up so that his birth mom could come and see him. He was just truly excited about meeting her at all. The legalities he'd leave to his mother.

"Yes…" Regina's grimace made clear what she thought of the word, "…cool."

"Is that all you wanted to talk to me about? The big family meeting?" He asked after there was a few minutes of silence. Nurse Kathryn and Graham made their way back to the love seat and were sitting down across from them.

Regina made no comment about the 'family meeting' usage, this time around. "Yes, for now that is all." Until she spoke to Dr. Whale and received the final word from him about the transplant that was all there was to talk about.

"Good…cause uhm…" Henry's face went from very red, from all the excitement about his birth mom being in town, to being very pale and green about the gills.

Regina and Kathryn were both up and out of their seats at the sight. Regina on her knees, grabbing up the basin that always sat by the edge of where Henry was sitting. Kathryn took it from her and allowed Regina to rub at Henry's back as he leaned over and lost most of his lunch.

Regina closed her eyes as she tried to ease the taught tension in Henry's back as he retched again and again. As he leaned back he was out of breath and his eyes droopy, exhausted. His hands trembled as he shivered. Regina pulled up the duvet and wrapped it around him as she pulled him into her arms and let him snuggle in against her. Kathryn took the basin to empty and clean it.

"It's alright…it's alright…" Regina soothed as Henry softly cried against her shoulder.

She knew, without Henry having to say a word that he was devastated that his good day was coming to an end. Holding his frail underweight body against her own as tight as she dared, Regina prayed this would be the last of his bad days. Humming softly she felt Henry's body slowly relax against hers, his breathing slowing down as it evened out and he fell asleep.

Regina prayed hat Emma Swan could save her son and maybe, just maybe, while she was at it, Ms. Swan could save her as well.

**End Chapter Eight**

**Author's Note: No real excuse for why this chapter took so long to post. I've actually had it written for several weeks but didn't want to post it until I had completed the next chapter. However with school back in session and this being my last ditch effort to get my degree I have very limited free time. Still, I thought it would be best to post this chapter and see what you all thought. I hope you enjoy(ed) it.**

**Also, for any SwanQueen diehards out there, AfterEllen is having a Femslash madness contest and Regina/Emma has made it to the semi-finals. However they are up against Rizzoli/Isles and are losing. :-( So I bring you this chapter and a link in hopes that you'll attempt to bridge the widening gap and show some true SwanQueen worship. ;) www. afterellen content/ 2012/09/ afterellencom-ultimate-femslash-madness-tourney-round-four-voting? page =0% 2C0 ==just remove the spaces**


	9. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine  
**'_Cake Walk' _

-**Storybrooke Hospital**-

Emma slowly slipped her shirt back over her head. The hospital gown she'd been wearing remained pooled on the floor at her feet. Brushing her hair out from under the collar of her shirt she sighed. These tests had taken far longer than she thought they would.

Five hours of going from one part of the hospital to the next could be exhausting. First it was to the second floor to get a CAT scan, MRI and arteriogram to test for the blood flow and supply to her liver. It was part of the radiologic testing that each candidate for a transplant had to go through, or so Dr. Whale had explained to her on their way to each exam. She'd thought it was a little funny that it was called radiologic testing since she was sure having all these forms of X-rays done on her body could make her radio-active.

CAT scan, MRI, and

After the arteriogram, which had been a bitch testing her arteries, they'd gone to get an EKG on her chest. Apparently they had to cover every single organ she had in her body to make sure she was healthy before donating the liver. She didn't mind. At least she'd find out her lung capacity.

The longest had been the tissue typing. They had to collect a sample of tissue from her liver. She hadn't even had to be put under. They had just brought her into the OR and with the help of microscopic lasers and medical tolls Emma couldn't pronounce they'd collected a sample of her tissues. They warned that she was going to be sore afterwards, but even looking down at where they'd gone through her bellybutton she didn't see anything. There was a bit of discomfort but nothing comparable to her monthly cramps.

The worst had been when she sat in the office of a psychologist on the first floor who showed her the cliché ink plot tests. That was the only examine that she knew she'd fail. Anyone trying to examine her mental state would clearly see that she was out of her mind. Dr. Warren didn't show any outward concern for her answers and took down her medical history as well as her personal history. She'd asked why she needed to have a psyche evaluation, but was informed that it was procedure to make sure that after the surgery she could handle the mental fatigue as well as the physical.

Then came the blood tests so they could perform cross-matching tests to make sure she was a compatible match for Henry (which wasn't really needed since they had her records already, but to make sure no one went to jail they did it again, as procedure called for—Dr. Whale's words not hers) and the antibody screening.

The nurse had to stick her arm three times before she could draw sufficient blood, she'd told the woman that her veins were thin; obviously the woman hadn't been paying attention to her warning. The two consequent sticks of the needle into her arm and then her hand were further proof. She'd held her tongue, afraid that if she made a fuss verbally rather than just glare at the woman, she'd end up with a few more sticks of other needles. Thankfully she'd gotten all the blood she'd needed and had left her alone a few minutes ago with the instructions to get dressed.

Standing in the empty room Emma shivered. It was cold in the hospital. The sterile environment of the hospital bothered her. It creeped her out to be honest, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand erect. No place was meant to be as clean and tidy as this place was. The antiseptic smell and the white washed floors were giving her a headache.

The only part of the hospital that she had walked through that had been remotely homey had been the intensive care wing. There were fresh flowers at each bedside and colored quilts on each of the patients in that wing of the hospital. It was also warmer on that floor. Emma figured it wasn't the temperature that made it warmer but the comfortable feel to the unit that made it seem warmer. It also smelled like spring had come early. The flowers on each bedside were new and the sweet aroma of each blended nicely as they permeated the air.

Surprisingly Emma hadn't even needed to ask about the calming quality of that wing. Dr. Whale had offered up the information about volunteers who came in to make the wing a bit lively, even if many of the patients were comatose. Apparently studies showed that it would help with a patients' recovery if they felt more comfortable in the hospital environment.

If in the descriptions of the volunteers that spend their afternoons there Dr. Whale focused on one Mary Margaret Blanchard more than the other half dozen volunteers? Well, Emma pretended not to notice.

She couldn't help but feel like she was being compared to this…saintly woman…by the doctor. It were as if he were looking for some kind of interconnected characteristic between herself and the elementary school teacher when there wasn't one. Emma had already met the woman. They were polar opposites from what she could tell. Mary Margaret Blanchard was a reserved and kind woman. Emma was neither reserved and usually not described as kind on any given day. Gruff, impatient, opinionated, loud…that described Emma far better.

She'd already picked Dr. Whale out as the intellectually perverse stalker type, but to already be under his microscope? Both figuratively and realistically, put her on edge. The way he looked at her from the corner of his eyes, watched her as if trying to find some kind of flaw hidden beneath the surface of her skin was making her antsy. She had no intention of staying in this hospital with him longer than she had to. She was almost upset to know that she'd have to come back here to see him again and again until the surgery and then following it. As the General surgeon on staff he was going to be performing the transplant with one of his co-workers to whom Emma had yet been introduced to. Still, the way Dr. Whale watched her made her feel like being on the inside the room with a one way glass and she was once again the subject that intrigued the people on the other side. Again.

"Are you decent, Ms. Swan?" Emma turned towards where the door was located on the other side of the curtain. Dr. Whale only waited a moment after her affirmative before he pulled the curtain back and took a seat by the examination table she was leaning back against, her leather jacket folded over her arms.

"So, what's the deal doc?"

"Well, the blood tests should be back by tomorrow morning at the earliest. Your CAT scan and MRI are clear. So is your EKG. When we took your blood pressure everything was good as well. You appear to be a very healthy woman." Emma was glad that he didn't leer at her chest or at her person at all. In fact he seemed very interested in the chart he was holding, only glancing up at her for milliseconds before pretending to flip through the results on the clipboard.

Tightening he arms around her chest, her jacket getting a bit wrinkled, she questioned him, "Why am I sensing a _**but**_ coming?"

Dr. Whale seemed to become even more uncomfortable. Almost as uncomfortable as he had been while Mayor Mills was still with them. Emma had noticed immediately that as soon as the Mayor had left he'd calmed down. His body language was more open than it had been when Regina was with them. Now he seemed to be as rigid and tight as before and Regina was nowhere in sight.

_Well that can't be good…_Emma mused silently.

"I'm obligated by UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing) to inform you that you are a compatible match genetically but not psychosocially."

Emma blinked, "Psycho_socially_?" What the hell did **that** mean?

"After this surgery, after this transplant, you are going to need constant home care. Which, as you have admitted, you do not have. Even if you were to return to Boston you have already mentioned that you have no close friends or family. Your emergency contact is a detective in Boston whom you work with, on occasion." He sighed finally looking up to meet her eyes. "Is there any chance that she would be willing to…"

Emma felt her heart plummet into her stomach. It was just as she knew it would be. She wasn't enough. Because of her, because of the way she lived and had been living her life she wouldn't be able to save Henry. Not that she'd honestly thought she'd be rejected by the doctors because she wasn't very friendly with a lot of people. Maybe Henry would reject her because she wasn't the best with kids or very interesting to a lot of people, but the doctors? That hadn't even been a thought in her mind.

"No." Emma shook her head as she stared down at her shoes. "No, she wouldn't be able to take care of me after the surgery." Emma let out a long regretful breath.

She'd thought they'd find something wrong with her organ or her blood or find she wasn't the perfect match they seemed so sure she was. Now Dr. Whale was saying so far she was medically perfect for this donation but he still had to turn her away. "Are you telling me that you won't allow me to donate my liver—a"

"A piece of your liver." Dr. Whale quickly reminded.

"A piece of my liver…" Emma repeated with a roll of her eyes, "because I don't have anyone to take care of me after the surgery?"

Dr. Whale seemed as troubled with this as she was, but he still uttered a firm, "Yes."

"Well fuck that!" Emma shouted, throwing her jacket onto the exam table. "I mean I can hire a home care nurse to come and take care of me for the recovery time, or something. I mean, there are other options, doc. There are other options!" She repeated, her voice rising with each word as she became panicked. What if it there weren't any other options? She hadn't even met the kid yet (again) and she was desperate to do this surgery. Just as desperate as Regina was. The kid needed her and she'd be damned if her lack of family or friends (which wasn't her fault, mostly) was going to stop her from donating _part_ of her liver to the kid.

"I don't need family or friends to take care of me. I have money!" Not a lot of it but, "I have _enough_…money to hire a nurse to look after me if I need one." A beat, "How long was the recovery period again?"

"Six weeks to six months. It depends on the patient."

Emma cringed. Hiring a nurse to come take care of her for six weeks she might be able to handle. Her savings would allow for that. It was only the issue of where she would be staying for those six weeks that gave her pause. She tried her best to keep moving. It was safer that way to always keep moving. If, god forbid, she had to be in recovery for six months? She wasn't sure she knew what she'd do at that point. She needed to be able to disappear at a moment's notice if the need arose.

"Okay, so home care? I can do that, can't I?"

"Yes, yes you can but…"

"No buts!" Emma ordered, making Dr. Whale snap his mouth shut. "Look, we've already talked about this. This transplant is Henry's only chance. If I have to stay here and hire someone to take care of me then I'll do that. I could do that. I _will_ do that." Emma wasn't sure who she was trying to assure of this, Dr. Whale or herself.

Dr. Whale was sure that Emma didn't even realize she'd said Henry's name instead of kid, but he had. He made a quick note of it on the sheets in front of him, internally smiling. Emma hadn't passed the psych evaluation. One of the notes that Dr. Warren had made was Emma's firm resolve to distance herself from Henry, even in name. It was one of the only hang ups that Dr. Warren had on Emma being the donator.

Emma's attempt to distance herself from Henry would be impossible after the surgery. The child would not only be her biological son, he would no longer just be the child she carried for nine months and gave up for adoption. Henry would hold a part of her. A larger part of her than he already had. Henry would have a physical aspect of her person, that part of her body, her very organ would forever be within her child's body. It would link them in ways that Emma wasn't ready to accept. Emma couldn't even accept the boy as her child in a healthy manner. Dr. Warren worried that when her coping mechanisms about Henry failed, and they would fail after the surgery he was sure of it, Emma wouldn't know how to cope.

"Alright, alright…if you are certain about this, then, fine. There are several home care services that I can recommend. The hospital also runs many of them." Dr. Whale attempted to placate her, but his tone and the slight touch to her shoulder only furthered her agitation. It also made her skin crawl. "However, this was not the only issue with the tests we conducted today, Ms. Swan. I understand your wish to save Henry, truly I do. However, we'll need to speak with Mayor Mills about this…new…situation."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Why do we have to speak with her about it?" Then, "What is…_**it**_?"

Dr. Whale certainly didn't want to be the one to tell Regina that Emma would need to meet Henry. Nor did he want to tell the Mayor that they—Emma and Henry—would have to have a relationship before the surgery. Especially when he knew that by doing so would turn Regina's ire onto him because it was an ultimatum. One he didn't want to make. If Regina did not let Emma know Henry, did not agree to Emma making a connection with Henry—a healthy one—then Emma could not donate her liver to him.

Be it a small relationship, a relationship that could hopefully be made in only five days.

Dr. Whale liked his colleague. Dr. Warren was a talent man in his field. However he wasn't as immediately affected by the outcome of this transplant. He hadn't watched Henry from the beginning. Dr. Whale had been there from the very beginning and he was going to see this through to the end. So even with the advice that he should find another donor, he wasn't going to. They had time and if he had to he could call in Dr. Hooper who would certainly sign off on the transplant and Ms. Swan's mental state. He would do it because it was the best thing for Henry. Even if that meant it wasn't the best thing for Ms. Swan.

It also wouldn't hurt to let Regina know that it would be necessary for Ms. Swan to hire home care to help her during her recovery time. He was hoping that the Mayor would offer her services to Ms. Sawn so there would be no back-last from his slight ignorance of the rules of the State. He couldn't sign off on the surgery unless he knew that Emma would have adequate care afterwards. She had no insurance and would be paying for the home care service out of pocket. A pocket that was not very deep when it came to monetary means. However, Regina's pockets were deeper than anyone Dr. Whale knew, save for Mr. Gold. Regina would offer to pay for the home care services or Dr. Whale would have to play a little dirty.

Playing dirty with the Mayor was not something he looked forward to. He knew how powerful she was, what she was capable of. He did not want to be on the receiving end or her wrath.

"Dr. Warren's evaluation raises some concerns. Concerns that Mayor Mills must be made aware of as they concern her and Henry."

"What concerns?" Emma asked, her eyes trained on Dr. Whale. Seeing the tick above Dr. Whale's eye begin to throb Emma shook her head. How was it that this woman had such control over these people? She wasn't that scary. Granted Emma had only known her for the about 48 hours. She wasn't afraid of the woman. Annoyed, intrigued, and stimulated (both intellectually and physically) by Mayor Mills? Sure, though she wasn't ready to admit the second aspect of how the Mayor could affect her.

"He brought to my attention that after the surgery you may not be able to handle the ramifications."

"I'm healthy and I heal fast I can deal with…"

"Mentally, Ms. Swan. He feels that it is not in your best interest, mental health wise, for you to be the donator."

"That's crazy!" Emma shrieked. Dr. Whale stepped away from Emma, the blonde turning on her heel to pace the length of the examination room. "How can he say that!? This is Henry's last chance. You said that…you all said that! You said that this was his last chance! That _I am_ his last chance. You said that!" Emma pointed a shaky finger at Dr. Whale.

"It is…and yes I did and you are."

"Then how can he say that? How can he say no because of my mental state? Does he think my mental state is going to be any better if I'm the reason that he dies? That because I'm not mentally healthy or perfect or whatever that he dies? What happens then? Does he realize what happens then? Does he?!" Emma stopped pacing to stare at Dr. Whale her arms waving around in front of her before they too fell to her sides and she stared at him, her chest heaving, her heart pounding beneath her chest. "Does he…?" She whispered her face softening as she looked around the room, unable to see the pity directed her way by Dr. Whale. She closed her eyes, her hair falling around her face as she looked at the floor and tried to calm down. Taking several deep breaths she waited a few minutes before she looked up to see Dr. Whale still standing in front of her, offering her an apologetic smile, small as it could be.

"What do we have to do? What do I…have to do?" Emma stressed the "I" as she waited, hopeful, that Dr. Whale had a plan. She hoped that she was wrong about him and that he wasn't a sleazy creepy bastard.

"We have to speak with Mayor Mills about you meeting Henry. Getting to know him, and forming some kind of relationship with him. If that relationship is formed before the surgery than Dr. Warren will have no choice but to sign off on the surgery."

"And if he doesn't?" Emma asked.

"Then I have another colleague of mine who we can turn to in that situation and that situation only. He'll agree to it then, even if it is against his moral code, he likes Henry too much not to sign off on the surgery."

"Okay…okay…" Emma nodded her mind running wild with what she had to do. It wasn't so bad. Not really. She had to meet Henry. Talk to him. Get to know him. It wasn't as if this would be the scariest thing she ever had to do. No…this would be a cake walk. She'd get to know her kid. See what he liked; see if they had anything in common. See what he looked like; hear about what his life had been like before and after he'd been diagnosed with this disease.

_See? It'll be a total cake walk. You just ask a few questions. He'll ask a few questions. _

Questions about her life, and how she grew up. What she liked and what she didn't. Maybe even what she did for a living. That'd be cool for a ten year old to hear. She wouldn't tell him everything but didn't all ten year old boys love to hear about a good chase scene? She had a lot of interesting stories about some of the men and women she'd chased down. If he was anything like her and liked adventures he'd love those stories.

_Yeah, yeah that'll be easy. It won't be so bad. Total cake walk…._

He could ask questions about why she gave him up…why she didn't stay in one place for very long, what she planned to do after the surgery…did she plan to stay? Questions about his father…

"Oh god…" Emma ran to the other side of the room where she knocked the top of a trash can away and emptied her breakfast into it. Dr. Whale's hand on her back only made her feel worse as she heaved again.

_Hell who am I kidding? This is going to be a disaster._

**End Part Nine**

**Thanks to everyone who has been reading, reviewing, and following the story. I apologize for the gaps in updates. I can't promise it'll be any different real life has gotten more 'real' in a way. However I hope you've enjoyed this update and will enjoy the rest of the story. I am not going anywhere. I plan to finish this and A Bounty For a Witch's Heart. **

**Call for Beta: **If there is anyone who is willing to beta this story please send me a PM or mention it in a review. I could use assistance with my gramatical errors as well as some 'sounding board' help.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Author's Note 1: **A huge thank you to **mooglesmuse **for all of her help with this story and many many of my others which will make appearances soon enough. Without her constant support and conversation I probably wouldn't have gotten this chapter done. Sadly it's been sitting on my computer waiting to be posted and she hasn't pressed, which I'm grateful for. Though sad that I had to make you all wait. But it's here now and I hope that you'll enjoy it.

**Part 10  
**'_Telling Regina'_

Emma was finally starting to feel better. The nurse had just brought in a bag of saltine crackers and seltzer to make her stomach settle down. She'd refused to be stuck with another needle. Not by Nurse Ratchet. Not by anyone, for at least the next few hours. If that meant she'd have to deal with her nausea then so be it.

Sitting up on the exam table she munched slowly on the crackers, her face pale and her hair sticking to her forehead. She hadn't taken the news of getting to know Henry very well.

Thankfully, egotistically, she was able to wave off the idea of meeting her son being so terrifying that it made her ill easily. After all, she'd just gone through several tests and had a lot of blood taken. There were any number of reasons why she had gotten sick. It hadn't been her fear. Nope. Not at all.

She wasn't fooling anyone and she knew it. Not that Dr. Whale said anything. He hadn't said much since he'd helped her take a seat on the exam table and had called for that nurse that just left.

The nurse had forgotten to close the curtain when she came in and Dr. Whale was too busy taking her pulse to close it. Not that she minded, she was dressed and although she looked like crap it was nice not to feel suffocated in the cold room. She could see out into the intensive care wing through the glass windows.

There were people sitting on the beds next to people they cared about. Some of the ones that were awake were talking with their loved ones even, and they all seemed…content.

Emma loved solitude. She lived alone and enjoyed it, but she _loved_ knowing that she was surrounded by people at all times. Even as a child she had hated being surrounded by other kids in the system, never having a room to herself, most of the time. Then there were times where she was grateful that she wasn't alone, that there were other people around her. It made her think that she wasn't really alone…even when she knew she kind of was.

In crowds, big crowds, she never felt suffocated. It was why she lived in cities. She liked to people watch. It made her feel better because it was something she had always done. It was something she was good at. She noticed things that no one else did about a person just by looking at them. She liked to think that was how she'd developed her own super power.

She was a human lie detector. She knew when someone was lying to her just by looking at them. She utilized that ability like the weapon it was in her line of work. It certainly helped her catch one or two…or twelve plus bounties, putting all that extra cash in her account.

In the corner of her eye Emma noticed a familiar figure moving around the wing.

Ms. Blanchard.

The school teacher was carrying a small vase of flowers and wearing a kind smile. It looked like she was heading towards Emma's room for a few moments. It became clear a few pain staking seconds later that she was headed to the room next to Emma's. In those moments Emma couldn't help but watch her. Looking to the wall, which was just a glass barrier between her room and the next, Emma saw Ms. Blanchard put the vase of flowers down on the bedside table of an unconscious man. He had shaggy, dirty brown hair and a strong jaw line. The arm that was out from under the blanket let Emma see thick muscle tone which would have dissipated with time as he remained unconscious, making her believe he hadn't been unconscious for long. He was too 'well preserved' to have been in a coma for more than a few weeks.

Emma wondered what he did. His shoulders were broad, but in a sleek build. Emma imagined he was very strong, maybe a football player or athlete of some kind. Then again, he could very well have worked on a farm all his life…there had been a few farms in this area, hadn't there? Yes, thinking about it Emma remembered there being a bit of farm land outside of Storybrooke. Mostly cattle farms, not crops.

She had worked on a farm for two years after she got out of juvie it meant a lot of manual labor. She'd developed strong arm muscles from all the heavy lifting that still came in handy these days, especially when fighting guys twice her size. Moving around rural America between counties during harvest season was one of the ways she'd made a living for herself. There had been a lot of accidents though. A few too many happened for her liking, so she'd looked for other jobs closer to cities and more people.

Small town life wasn't exactly her 'dream come true' or even a distant apparition of what she wanted for herself. The smaller the population the easier it was to find someone. The harder it was to be unnoticed.

_Snap out of it, Swan. _

Thinking back on it now Emma smiled; she'd lost all of her baby weight quickly with her workload. Slackers weren't welcome and if she knew for sure anything about herself it was that she wasn't a slacker. She did the work she was given and didn't complain about it. Complaining didn't get you anywhere in life. She'd learned that right quick while in the system. Better to be grateful for what you had with the family you were with than complain about what you didn't.

The curtain around her exam room was pulled closed, blocking Emma's sight of Mary Margaret and the comatose man. It was probably for the better. She didn't need anyone thinking she was some kind of stalker.

"Alright, I just need you to sign a few of these forms and once you're feeling up to it we can head back into my office."

"Yeah, sure." Emma grabbed the clipboard and skimmed through the legal jargon on the pages before scribbling her signature on the appropriate line.

Dr. Whale took the clipboard from Emma and held it flat against his chest. He stared at Emma for a few seconds longer than was comfortable.

"So…" Emma bit her bottom lip as she nodded twice and slapped the edge of her examination table. "What's next?"

"There are a few things I'd like to discuss with you and Mayor Mills when she picks you up."

"What things?" Emma asked, suspicious.

"Nothing to worry about at the moment." Dr. Whale forced a smile on his face.

"Has anyone ever told you how creepy you can be when you smile like that?" Emma crossed her arms as she watched Dr. Whale's eyes widen and his smile disappear. "No, huh? Just for further reference, it's creepy. It makes you look like a psychopath. And psychopath vibes and being a doctor don't usually tend to mix well."

"I, uh…no one's ever, I am a professional. My only concern in this matter is for you and Henry."

Emma tilted her head, wondering why he was lying. "That's not true, is it?"

Dr. Whale blinked, startled at how quickly Emma rose from the exam table and was standing in front of him. "What exactly are you insinuating?"

"I don't know, why don't you tell me? Why are Henry and I not your only concern during this?"

Dr. Whale swallowed nervously as Emma stared him down. Only a few moments before, she had seemed so vulnerable and fragile. Now she seemed as steady and strong as an ox and as determined as one as well. "I have no idea what you're…"

"Don't lie to me, doc. You won't get away with it. Who else are you concerned about in all of this?" Emma waited a moment. "Mayor Mills?"

Dr. Whale took a deep breath and squared his own shoulders. There was only one woman in this town that could get the best of him in his own hospital, and her name was not Emma Swan.

"I am concerned about all of you. This is not just about a surgery anymore, Ms. Swan. It is about so much more," he sighed. "So much more. I just want it to go smoothly. I want everyone to come out of it unscathed. Henry deserves more than what he's gotten in life. And to be honest? I think you deserve more as well."

Emma faltered, "You don't know anything about me."

"I know enough. Your medical history, your criminal record, all of it weaves a particularly lonely tale, Ms. Swan."

"You know_** nothing**_! You can't just read about my life before and think that you have the right to pity me." Emma exclaimed, her heart beginning to race against her chest as she remained within arm's length of Dr. Whale.

"I don't_ pity_ you. No. Nothing of the sort. I _respect_ you, Ms. Swan." Dr. Whale watched Emma's eyes widen as she took a small step away from him. She was still closed off, her arms across her chest and her feet planted firmly upon the ground, but her eyes were softening, though wary. He took his chance to continue. "I cannot imagine what your life has been like. I could not even begin to fathom any of it. Any of the hardships you had to live through. I merely wish for you to have something that you haven't had before while you are here."

"Oh, and what's that?" Emma asked, her head turned away from Dr. Whale slightly, as if she were afraid of what he was going to say.

He smiled softly at her, and this time Emma didn't think it was creepy but genuine and made him look rather handsome. "Family. Support."

Dr. Whale watched as a lightness appeared around Emma, but it was gone as soon as it had come. Hope, he realized, that spark of lightness around Emma's person had been hope. But it was dashed as soon as it had come.

"I don't have family here. Henry's here, sure. But he's not mine." She frowned, a darkness covering her eyes as she turned away from him completely.

Dr. Whale twitched as if he wanted to say more. His knuckles turned white as he clenched his hand into a fist. He looked at Emma and then watched as Mary Margaret walked passed their exam room, her doe eyes looking up and meeting with Emma's for only a moment before she looked to him. Her raised brow was question enough and he offered only a short shake of his head as her answer. She nodded before offering Emma another smile, walking by on her way to finish collecting the dying flowers on certain tables and trading them for fresh ones.

Emma sighed heavily, her entire body appearing to fall in on itself. "I can't stay. Not after I've healed. Not after he's better. I can't stay here and be forced to watch from afar as he grows up," Emma admitted, her arms wrapping around herself; instead of seeming hostile, this time he thought of it as a form of protection, her arms keeping her safe and secure because no one else's arms were there to do it for her.

He stepped up to her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "There's time to decide that. But maybe you wouldn't have to be on the sidelines."

She shot around to look at him. He shrugged. "I don't think I'm as crazy as your facial expression it making me think I am. After all is said and done, things change. Sometimes people change. Maybe she'll change her mind. I mean," he paused, knowing this was stepping over a line he wasn't supposed to cross, but he felt he owed it to Emma to at least do this small thing, "Especially if you get a contract signed before the surgery. After all, you'll have to retract the closed adoption now that you're going to be here saving his life. And in my opinion, though this is off the record, I don't think asking for visitation rights would be asking for enough."

"You don't?" Emma met his eyes for a second before her gaze fell to his hand, which was still on her shoulder. She raised her eyebrow.

He dropped his hand off her shoulder and shook his head. "No, I don't think it is."

Nodding, Emma turned back towards the glass wall where she watched as Ms. Blanchard spoke animatedly with a nurse on the other side of the wing. Seeing the flowers that now decorated the otherwise dreary ICU wing, Emma smirked.

"I don't have a lawyer," Emma stated as she stared at her reflection.

Dr. Whale reached into his pocket and handed her a white business card with black century gothic print. Emma looked down at the small card and internally cringed at the name on it. "Mr. Gold…the man with the cane?"

"He's the best lawyer we've got in town. Well, besides Regina."

Emma laughed, "Of course she's a lawyer. Woman certainly knows how to argue a point to the death." She shook her head as she pocketed the card. "Should've known." Fingering the edge of the card as it sat in her pocket Emma chewed on the inside of her cheek. "What time did you say she was going to get here?"

"I haven't called her yet. Though, knowing her, she'll be here within the hour."

"Great." That would give her enough time, wouldn't it? "You have a phone I can use?"

Dr. Whale smiled. "Of course. Just follow me back to my office."

Emma nodded as Dr. Whale led the way down the eastern hallway towards his office. As they walked by she noticed that the nurse and Ms. Blanchard stared after them.

Emma shook off the feeling of being stared at. "I hate small towns," she mumbled under her breath.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Mayor Mills seemed almost normal as she sat in Dr. Whale's office with them. She had returned to pick Emma up, just as she promised she would. Emma had wanted to call a cab, but one pleading look from Dr. Whale had stopped her before she could dial 411 to get the information. She didn't want the guilt of letting the Mayor loose on the doctor to weigh on her conscience. Not after he'd been so helpful. Besides, Emma was already going along with the doctor's plan to manipulate the woman, in a way. The least she could do was let him bear witness to how it all played out.

It wasn't until Regina arrived in a flourish, because she didn't seem to know how to enter a room without one that Emma wondered if 411 would even have the number to a cab company in this town. 'Hick' town came to mind; it made her grin, but she'd be damned if she ever said it aloud, especially in front of the Mayor of said 'hick' town.

They were both listening to the results of the tests that Dr. Whale had run on her even though she'd already heard these results. The good Mayor didn't even complain much when she found out that the blood tests hadn't come back yet. Dr. Whale assured her highness, because Emma had to resort to making up nick names for Regina to keep herself entertained, that the results would be ready by the next morning. He'd put a rush put on them since Henry's case was so important, not only to her majesty but to everyone in the hospital.

Emma knew before Dr. Whale started talking about his obligations to make sure this transplant did not adversely affect Henry or Emma that Regina, her royal stick in the mud, wasn't going to take the news well. She should have put money on it, because the moment the issues arose of any concerns Dr. Whale had for Emma's recovery, the hackles popped up, as did the attitude.

Whatever good mood Regina had been in when she'd returned vanished at the minute detail of whether or not Emma would be properly taken care of after the surgery.

It didn't surprise Emma. Not really. She had known what her part in this deal was. She was here to give her liver to the kid. End of story. What happened after that? Well, her royal heartlessness didn't much care about that.

Emma thought, for the briefest of moments, that maybe it hadn't even crossed her mind, but that was quickly dashed when Mary Margaret's recovery process was brought up.

"Mary Margaret's case was different."

"Why? How was it different? Mary Margaret did not have anyone living with her. No spouse to take care of her during her recovery, or nurses!"

"Yes, you're right." Dr. Whale nodded duly.

"Mary Margaret also didn't have family taking care of her either, so I do not see why Ms. Swan's status as a single individual with no family matters at all in this process. She has agreed to the procedure. She knows the risks."

"Be that as it may—"

"You know the risks, do you not, Ms. Swan?" Regina asked, completely ignoring Dr. Whale.

"Ah, uh...yeah I know the risks."

With a nod, Regina turned back to Dr. Whale as if that stuttered response solved everything. "See, there is no need for…"

"Regina!" Emma stared, slack jawed, as Dr. Whale took a deep breath and calmed himself. His outburst, albeit warranted, was unexpected. It had stopped her royal snootiness instantly. Emma watched as Regina sat back, her arms folded regally across her chest as she waited Dr. Whale out. Emma wondered if anyone ever raised their voices while speaking to her. Ever.

Emma expected the good doctor to crumble under her intense gaze, so it was a surprise when he didn't.

"There is a need. Mary Margaret may not have had blood relatives to take care of her, or a spouse, or even home care. But she might as well have. I visited Mary Margaret every day after my shift here at the hospital. Ruby and Mrs. Wolf were always at her apartment when they weren't at the diner. Leroy was even present for some evenings to look after her to see if she needed anything. She had full time care. You know this. You were even there on your lunch breaks when you didn't go home to visit Henry."

Well look at that, the heartless has a heart after all, Emma thought as she watched Regina shift uncomfortably in her seat at being 'found out.' But seriously? What was this woman's problem? She was complaining about helping Emma get home care when she herself had played nurse maid to Ms. Blanchard and knew firsthand the trauma and stress of recovery? Was it just her that the Mayor didn't like?

"Fine," Regina relented, refusing to look at Ms. Swan or Dr. Whale. "I shall ask Katherine if she knows of any other home care nurses who would be willing to look after Ms. Swan. Unless you know of someone?" Regina asked, challenging Dr. Whale as she finally met his eyes again. If he knew of someone off the top of his head Regina would know just how planned this entire 'meeting' was.

"No. I think it would be best if you asked Katherine. I can't spare any of my nurses as it is," Dr. Whale was quick to answer. Emma and Regina both noticed how the vein in his neck was pulsing. The poor man was probably minutes away from having a heart attack by the slightly shaky look of his hands and the sweat appearing on his brow.

"Is that all for today, Dr. Whale?"

"Ye—" He cleared his throat, "yes, that's all."

"Wonderful. Now, Ms. Swan, if you would kindly follow me I will bring you back to the Wolf Lodge Inn." Regina stood from her seat and made her way to the door.

Emma stood up slowly and winked at Dr. Whale as she followed the woman out of the office. "See you tomorrow, doc."

"Good evening, Ms. Swan."

Emma shook her head at the formal tone. She didn't have long to dwell on it. Not when Regina was already halfway down the hallway. Picking up her pace Emma caught up to the Mayor just as the doors to the elevators opened. They both stepped inside and stood practically shoulder to shoulder. In the corner of her eye Emma noticed Regina begin to smirk.

"Not afraid I'll drug you this time, dear?"

Emma smiled as she chuckled to herself. She had been ridiculous. But she had to remind herself, stranger things had happened. "Not anymore."

"Oh, and why's that?" Regina stared straight ahead at the doors of the elevator though her head itched to turn to stare at the blonde beside her. She could practically feel the heat of the other woman she was so close.

Emma gave in and turned to look directly at the Mayor. "Too many witnesses saw us leaving together. I go missing people will start asking questions."

"Who will ask questions about you dear? You'd just be a woman who passed through."

Emma knew an insult when she heard one; she also knew a challenging smile when one was given. "You don't know me, Ms. Mills. You think I'm alone. That I don't have fri…people who would come looking for me." Regina turned to look at Emma, surprised. "You're wrong."

"Am I?"

"Yes. And my friends…aren't very nice." She almost choked on the word friends, but it was said, it was out there, and she wasn't about to take it back. Seeing the shock upon the Mayor's face, Emma couldn't help but smile. Sure the Mayor now thought she associated with criminals and scoundrels, but Emma would rather the Mayor think she would have someone come look for her instead of no one at all.

The elevator bell dinged and Emma stepped out first; this time the Mayor had to catch up with her.

The ride through town was quiet. Emma made sure to put on her seatbelt the second she was inside the car and kept an eye open for kids playing on the sidewalks that they were passing by. The names of the streets were different this time and the numbers headed down rather than up. Emma wondered if Regina took different routes back and forth from the hospital on purpose or if it was just a habit for the Mayor.

"Thanks for the ride." Emma was happy to see the Inn. She couldn't wait to take a shower, fall into bed, and sleep this day away.

Regina rolled down her window and called out after the retreating blonde. She hadn't had any time at all to speak with the woman about their plans for tomorrow. "I'll pick you up in the morning."

Emma turned so her back was to the entrance of the Inn. "No need. I can drive myself." She stuck her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket as she rocked back and forth on the heel of her shoes.

Regina scowled. "You would just need to leave your car at the hospital if they need to draw more blood."

"Is that concern I hear in your voice Madame Mayor?" Emma teased, enjoying how Regina's scowl deepened. She sighed; she'd let the Mayor off easy tonight. "They don't have to draw more blood. Tomorrow's just about getting the results. I can drive myself. But thank you for the offer."

Emma watched the Mayor's mouth snap shut at the polite refusal. The brunette blinked several times "Very well." She seemed to digest what Emma was telling her and began to roll up her window.

Emma stood frozen for a moment before she walked back towards the car. She didn't say anything, not wanting to warn the Mayor she was coming closer. The Mayor noticed her approach and once again lowered her window. "Yes?" Her bored tone had a bit of hidden curiosity in it.

"Henry…ah, how was he?"

Regina's eyes widened as she watched Emma nervously push her tongue against the side of her cheek. She focused on the nervous tick. She had noticed that Emma also bit the inside of her cheek when she was nervous as well. Something that she shared in common with Henry. Or, rather, since she had liked comics since she was Henry's age, he shared that affinity with her. It was disquieting. They had never met before. Was she to believe that merely through DNA they shared the same quirks? That…was a frightening thought.

"He was feeling well during the morning. He had some trouble during the afternoon. He…I informed him that you were here. Apparently he knows who you are to him." Regina was slightly amused at the shock that appeared on Emma's face. Surely the girl did not think she would keep her a secret did she? Then again, the poor woman looked like she was about to faint, she even stumbled two steps back, putting her in the center of the sidewalk. "Are you alright?" Regina was truly concerned at the loss of color to Emma's cheeks and the show of effort it was taking her to even blink.

Turning off the car and stepping out she pocketed the keys and stood directly in front of Ms. Swan. She was still, her eyes glazed and practically unseeing as she continued to stare at her left shoulder. "My eyes are up here, Ms. Swan." Regina cracked a smirk, hoping the jibe would get the blonde to look up at her. When she merely blinked once Regina rolled her eyes. Placing her hand on Emma's cheek she helped lift the woman's gaze up so their eyes could meet. There was a swirl of emotions raging against each other inside Emma's blue eyes. It startled Regina. There was an anxious vulnerability lurking just beneath the surface of Emma. Her body quivered with it. Of all the emotions battling within the young woman, Regina noticed this most acutely. She battled the same sense of vulnerability, the fear of inadequacy and rejection, every day.

"He is…he wishes to meet with you." Regina didn't understand why she felt so compelled to ease Emma's fears. "He wishes to speak with you. He thinks you might be interested in comic books. Like him, since I abhorred them before he became so fascinated with them."

Emma's eyes cleared, if only just a bit. "He…he does?"

"Yes. He does."

As Emma rolled her shoulders and took a step away from Regina, it was then that she realized she had still been cupping the younger woman's cheek. Clearing her throat and dropping her hand to her side quickly, she too stepped away. "Tomorrow. After the results. You will join us for lunch."

"Okay, yeah, great." Emma nodded, dropping her head to hide her blush even though Regina had turned back to her car and was having a bit of trouble getting the key into the lock. "I uhm…I'll bring my comic book collection."

Regina dropped her keys, her head shooting back to watch as Emma walked into the Inn, a bit of a hop in her step. Bending over to pick up the keys, she shook off whatever it was she was feeling and opened the car door. As she moved to get in, a long ring sounded throughout the town. Everyone that was on the street looked around and then listened as another ding sounded through the evening air. Regina looked at the clock tower above the library as it sounded once more, signaling it was 6 o'clock.

Her eyes narrowed at the clock. When had that begun to move again?

Looking around Regina climbed into her car and drove away quickly.

Something was happening to the curse.

Time…time was back. Time in Storybrooke was moving again.

**End Part Ten**

**Author's Note**: So I mentioned in Bounty a few months ago that I was affected by Superstorm Sandy. My home was destroyed I am still displaced. So I haven't had time to write, the desire or inspiration to do so either. I can't promise any quick updates but I wanted to post this chapter and another for Bounty (coming soon) so you all know I will finish these stories. It is just going to take time because I have other commitments that I hope you can understand.


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Part 11**  
'_No Alternatives'_

The sun was shining brightly as Emma made her way from the Wolf Lodge Inn towards Granny's Diner. The bright sun did nothing to warm the chill in the morning air. The short walk was enough to bring a red flush on Emma's cheeks. The wind blew against her, her hair billowing behind her. The dying and dead leaves scratched against the surface of the sidewalk as she walked briskly, ignoring the eyes that followed her.

She really hated small towns.

Pulling her leather jacket tighter around her Emma kept her head bowed and her left hand in her pocket. She nearly ran right into Mary Margaret as the school teacher was hurriedly leaving the diner, a Styrofoam cup—probably with her hot chocolate with cinnamon—and her small brown bag held protectively in two gloved hands.

"Oh, Emma. Good morning. I-I'm sorry." Emma did her best not to think about how squeaky and mouse like the woman's voice was. She hadn't had her morning coffee yet and hadn't been able to eat anything last night. She was cranky. The moment she thought ill of the woman though she immediately thought of how she had been willing to help save Henry, had donated a part of her liver to him. It made her sound like an angel rather than nails against a chalk board, with or without coffee and food in her system.

"No, it was my fault. Here…" Emma held the door open for the woman, her shoulders tense as the wind crashed against her back like waves in a winter storm.

"Thank you." Mary Margaret smiled, ducked her head, and was off down the street, apparently still in a hurry.

Emma watched the raven haired woman until she couldn't see her any longer. Shaking her head at herself she stepped into the warmth of the diner, immediately sighing as the heat of the establishment chased away the chill.

Just like the day before, her entrance into the diner caused a plague of silence to descend on the patrons. Thankfully, it only lasted for a few short minutes before everyone went back to their own business.

Seeing an empty stool at the counter Emma took it, smiling when Ruby bounced over, a cup of steaming coffee in her hands.

Emma was surprised to see the coffee was made just how she'd asked for it yesterday. She wasted little time in picking up the cup and enjoying the first taste of caffeine.

"You really are a god send Lady Red." Emma said over the rim of her coffee, watching as Ruby grinned mischievously at her.

"Surprised to see you here again, Stranger."

"You do know my name now." After all, she'd had to give Granny at least her first name to put on the docket, even if she was paying with cash.

"Of course, but Stranger sounds better." Ruby winked, Emma couldn't help but chuckle.

"Don't like my name?"

"No, it's a fine name. Your parents did right by you with it." Ruby pretended not to notice the slight crease around Emma's eyes, the smallest of cringes, "I just have a thing for nicknames, and besides, Stranger is…"

"Mysterious. As you said yesterday." Emma hid behind her cup of coffee again, sighing as the burning liquid slid down her throat and warmed the parts of her that the heat of the diner hadn't yet been able to.

"Ruby…" Granny warned, and Ruby rolled her eyes, gave a slight jerk of her head to Emma in apology, before she disappeared to schmooze with some of the other patrons at her matriarch's insistence.

Emma didn't mind. She just enjoyed her cup of coffee and did her best to listen in to the patron's conversations all while appearing as if she was in her own little world. People felt more comfortable divulging information when they thought you weren't interested, at least that's what she'd learned.

There was some talk about the Sherriff and a local woman being seen together last night at dinner, something that apparently didn't happen often. There was also mention of Connor Whale being seen out of his office before midnight, something as equally unheard of. It appeared that the good doctor was a workaholic, which Emma could appreciate since one of his top priorities was Henry.

Thinking about Henry, Emma remembered to pull out the old shoe box in the back of her trunk that housed her comic book collection. She kept it in the car, hidden underneath the spare tire for the long nights she was on stake outs. It looked like they'd come in handy when connecting with her…with Henry…or so the Mayor had her inclined to believe.

The Mayor…Emma had spent a good portion of last night wondering just what the Mayor was like behind closed doors, with Henry. She had seen the photograph of the two of them, Regina kneeling beside Henry as he sat in a wheelchair. The adoration and love that shone clearly in Regina's expression as she stared at Henry and Henry smiled at the camera. It had touched her. Reached right into her chest and yanked metaphysically at her heart. Emma wanted to see that for herself. She didn't want to gaze upon a frozen documented moment in time. She wanted to see the good Mayor with Henry in person.

Did they have snowball fights during the winter before he got sick? Did they have movie nights? Have a special day where they only spent time with each other? What were their routines before…and after? What were their inside jokes? When had Henry started crawling, walking, talking? What was their favorite memory together, apart? What was Henry's favorite ice cream? Did he like cinnamon in his hot chocolate too? There were so many things that Emma wanted to know, had thought about a billion times before, but never thought she'd get the chance to have answered. She had that chance now, and it made her a bit anxious. Nervous. It made it imperative that she see Henry.

She wasn't sure why, not fully anyway. A part of her was aware that seeing Regina and Henry together would make this more real for her. Henry wasn't her son. He was Regina's. Emma knew that. Mentally and emotionally she knew that. What she needed now was to see them together. See the easy way they communicated, the easy way Regina touched Henry to calm him, or make him smile, or the looks she sent him to scold him.

There was just a small part of her that needed to see him. She needed that minute connection to him to finally put the last puzzle piece together. It was about reassurement maybe, inspiration, justification for why she was doing this? It was just _something_ inside her that needed to click, and she was sure it would come when she stood in front of her son.

Seeing Henry in person, hearing his voice and being close enough to touch him, smell his hair—like she'd done when he was only an infant that one time she'd held him—would make this real. It would cement everything—being here in bumblefuck Maine and introducing herself to her ten year old son who was dying and in need of her liver.

Not that she wasn't already cemented here. Her feet were officially stuck in dry cement for all she cared. Screw whatever pair of shoes she'd been wearing when she got stuck. She wasn't leaving. Not even God himself was going to pull her away from Storybrooke before she had time to save her…the kid, Henry.

Emma felt her cellphone vibrate in her pocket. She looked down at the display case and saw the name **Ashlynn** light up. She shook her head and put the phone back into her pocket letting the call go to voicemail.

"How'd the meeting with the Mayor go?" Ruby leaned on the counter, eager to hear the gossip.

Emma snapped her eyes up, watching as Ruby slid a new cup of coffee with cream and two sugars in front of her while subtly taking her empty cup.

"I'm sorry, what?" Emma blinked, surprised that she had really tuned out while trying to listen to the patrons' conversations.

Behind her Emma heard several conversations halt, the noise level almost dead. Chancing a look over her shoulder she realized the morning rush was already gone. Emma chanced a look down at her watch and realized it was already eight thirty.

"Wow, this town works like clockwork."

"Funny, isn't it? The clock tower only just recently started working again too."

Yeah, that was kind of funny, or ironic, in Emma's opinion.

Ruby disappeared for a minute leaving Emma to sip at her second cup of coffee. The waitress popped up again, sans the empty coffee cup she'd taken, a few moments later, pen and pad in hand. Not that Emma had seen her use it yet. Maybe it was just a habit to carry it around.

Or, as Emma peeked over the edge of the pad, something to keep Ruby busy as the blonde noticed several doddles scattered over the page.

"So, how was that meeting with the Mayor yesterday?" Ruby asked, again.

Emma put her cup down and smiled. "Ah, that's not how our relationship works, is it?" Ruby cocked an eyebrow, intrigued and curious. "I'll tell you something in return for something."

Ruby's eyes sparkled, "I already gave you your coffee, don't you owe me something for _that_?" She pouted a bit, and Emma found it adorable.

Chuckling, Emma shook her head, because Ruby was right, in a way. "It went well."

"What can I get you then? The directions of someone else in town?" Ruby seemed to appreciate their little game; the girl was practically vibrating with energy, kind of reminded Emma of a puppy.

"Actually, yes, but first maybe you could get me something to eat." Ruby's eyes widened, surprised that she hadn't already offered to take Emma's order. "Recommend anything for breakfast?"

"Well the breakfast special today is two eggs however you like them and a side of ham and toast. But the waffles are really good to."

Emma considered it. "I'll take the breakfast special, over easy on the eggs and whole wheat toast, maybe with that homemade jam your Grandmother is so fond of yelling about."

Ruby laughed a bit too loud, causing Granny to stare at the two of them from the other side of the diner where she was doing some paperwork. Emma ducked her head as Ruby offered a sheepish smile.

"Coming right up. Then I'll be back to give you the directions you're looking for."

"Wonderful." Emma shook her head in amusement as Granny started whispering with Ruby when the younger woman made it to the end of the counter. Shaking her head, Emma looked around her and saw someone had left the morning paper. Shrugging her shoulders she pulled the paper over to her and started to browse through it, sipping at her coffee as she waited for her breakfast.

Emma was immersed in the Wanted section of the Storybrooke Mirror when Ruby put down a plate with steaming food that made Emma's stomach growl aggressively.

"Wow…" Ruby's eyes widened at the sound, "…you'd think some kind of animal was living in your stomach."

"Oh you have no idea…" Emma teased as she took a deep breath, humming in pleasure at the aromas coming off her plate. "Thank you."

"No problem. Enjoy. If you need anything else, let me know."

"Actually, can I get a cup of orange juice?"

"Sure thing." Ruby disappeared after she put down silverware rolled up inside of a napkin.

Unraveling the silverware Emma tucked into her meal.

When she was finished Ruby was back at her side to take her plate immediately. The waitress was apparently bored, as there were only two other patrons in the diner and they seemed content to just read their papers and drink their coffee's.

"Bored?"

"You have no….idea." Ruby whined as she cupped her chin and leaned onto the counter. "So, what adventure are you going on today?"

"I don't know if I'd call it an adventure…" Emma stopped, thinking about it for a moment. Maybe it was an 'adventure' since she was going to see Cane Man, a.k.a Mr. Gold, the only other lawyer in this town besides Regina. "Maybe it is. I don't know, we'll see. Dealing with snakes comes easily for me, for the most part."

"Ohh….a snake huh? Big snake?"

"Anaconda type big."

Ruby's eyes sparkled again like they seemed to do when she was entertained or happy. Yep, Emma thought nodding internally. Just like a puppy.

Emma finished her coffee and put the cup down on the counter, piling her mess together to make it easier for Ruby to take away. "The Pawn Shop? How does one get there from here?"

The sparkle that was in Ruby's eyes disappeared at the mention of the Pawn shop. Emma had to admit, she'd been expecting that reaction. There was something fishy about Mr. Gold, and her suspicions centered around his interaction with Granny Wolf and Ruby from the night before.

"It's the opposite way you went yesterday. South down the main road, at the very end of the avenue where Trickster lane starts."

"Trickster lane?" Emma had to ask.

Ruby merely shrugged her shoulders. "I just live here, I didn't name the streets."

"No, you wouldn't have. Alright, so ten minute walk again?" For such a 'small' town, Emma realized she was doing a lot of walking around. "How many people live here anyway?"

Ruby still seemed a bit uneasy but was smiling again. "Oh, we may seem like small town but the population is actually relatively large, last time I heard the count, we were at about 65 thousand."

Emma's eyes widened and her jaw went slack. "Wow…" She whistled, that was a hell of a lot larger than she thought the town actually was.

"Yeah…" Ruby breathed a laugh, her hands nervously picking up Emma's dishes. "Just, be careful today." Ruby lowered her voice. "He really is a snake."

Emma inclined her head twice, taking the serious note of Ruby's voice to heart. She already had planned on it, but this just put her on further edge when it came to Mr. Gold.

"What exactly did I walk in on the other night, Ruby?" Emma asked, apologetic the moment she watched Ruby struggle to keep her grip on the dishes she'd just collected.

"Rent."

"You pay Mr. Gold rent? Why?" Emma asked, believing Ruby, she wasn't lying, it just seemed unbelievable.

"He owns the land."

Emma raised a brow, "What land?"

Ruby chuckled. "All of it."

"All of it, as in…"

Ruby nodded. "The whole town, some deal that was made before I can even remember, before we were born for sure. He owns the land and when you want to build something you make a contract with him, he's the land lord."

"Of the whole town."

"Well…" Here Ruby paused, thinking about it for a moment. "Mostly just the businesses actually. Not the residential area. That land the Mayor inherited and _she_ doesn't tax anyone for it."

"Jeez…" Emma ran her hand through her hair. "Weird."

Ruby shrugged. "I guess it would seem like that, but that's just the way it's always been around here." And seeing as Ruby hadn't ever been anywhere else she could only imagine how it seemed to an outsider.

"Right, in a not-so-small-town in the middle of nowhere." Emma had been in small towns before and she'd even worked on farms where the farmers that worked and lived on the land didn't own the land. It was similar to that, but it seemed unheard of for someone to own the whole town. That was just some 1860s western politics.

"Something like that." Ruby smirked, sparing Emma a wink as she left to get rid of Emma's dishes.

Shaking her head, Emma stood from her seat and pulled out her wallet, unsurprised to see that Ruby had left the check underneath the sugar dispenser on the counter in front of her. Seeing the damage breakfast had done she pulled out a twenty and left it on the counter, leaving Ruby a nice tip again.

Zipping up her jacket Emma made her way out of the diner, offering a short wave to Ruby as she left, and walked into the morning's chill. She had a meeting to get to after all.

-.-.-.-.-.-

Emma found the Pawn shop right at the end of Main Street. Low and behold the crossing block was in fact Trickster lane. Rolling her eyes at the oddity of this place Emma stepped into the shop, noting the open sign on the door.

The shop was empty. Still, the shop felt full as if there were too many people in the area, stifling the very air around her. It didn't surprise Emma that the shop was as unappealing and creepy as the smarmy man who owned it.

There was no sign of Mr. Gold anywhere, but there were the oddest of collectables scattered around. The windmill lawn ornament was interesting, as were some of the knick knacks inside the display case. The puppets in the corner freaked Emma out; she felt as if their eyes were following her as she moved further into the shop. There were ruby slippers on a pedestal next to glass slippers and a collection of what looked like wands.

Emma noticed a shining object on top of the display case on the right wall. It was a conch shell, small enough to be a decorative hair clip. Emma reached out and her fingers brushed over the surface of it. The moment she touched it she pulled her hand back, a shock traveling up from her fingertips. Static electricity, had to be.

Shaking out her hand Emma dropped her hand away from the clip.

"How can I help you?" Emma turned at the sound of Mr. Gold's voice. "Oh, Ms. Swan…" He seemed surprised to see her, even though he had been the one to arrange for them to meet this early in the morning.

"Morning…" She croaked. Her throat felt a bit raw. She cleared her throat and swallowed, the dust of the shop must be getting to her. "Sorry." Rubbing her hand against her throat she stepped into the midst of the shop, to stand in front of Mr. Gold. "Nice place you've got here." She glanced around at the controlled mess. "Hobby?"

"One of many." He stepped around from behind the counter. "Not many people need a lawyer in these parts, mostly property disputes, but our lovely Mayor handles most of those."

"Ah, and you handle the…adoptions?"

Mr. Gold's lips thinned but there was something about the way he stood and tilted his head to the side that made Emma think he wanted to be smiling. "You could say that." He did, after all, handle Henry's.

"So, is that what you're here for? A consultation about young Henry's adoption?"

Emma bit the inside of her cheek. "You could say that."

"I'm sure I just did." This time Mr. Gold did grin and it was as eerie as he was.

Emma forced a smile as she slipped her hands into her pockets. "I'm just here to see what it would take for the closed adoption to be…overturned amicably."

Mr. Gold stared at Emma. She felt his gaze like a physical touch and was disgusted by it. She shivered and pulled her jacket around her tighter. This shop, unlike Granny's, seemed to hold the chill of the morning even if the heat was on.

"Amicably." Mr. Gold nodded his head as he turned and walked around the counter towards a door covered only by hanging beads. He stopped as he made it to the entrance way. "Follow me."

Emma looked around the shop once more before slowly following Mr. Gold into the back of his shop. She was lead past what must have been his workshop into another room behind an actual door. It was an office, decent sized and actually appearing to be fitting for a lawyer for a small town. It didn't hold a candle to the Mayor's office of course, but Emma hadn't seen many offices that did.

"Take a seat." He gestured towards the chair in front the desk as he made his way to sit behind his desk.

Emma thought the controlled chaos of the shop was in stark opposition to the practically empty office and its cleanliness and orderly fashion.

Emma felt incredibly out of place sitting here inquiring about adoption loopholes. Especially since she had yet to discuss any of this with Regina. There might not even be need for a lawyer if Regina was willing to allow her times to see Henry.

Hell, she was really jumping the gun and she knew it. It was why the guilt didn't seem out of place. She hadn't even yet met Henry and she was here talking about getting visitation rights. Without talking to Regina about it. That more than anything was going to backfire on her and she knew it.

Regina didn't seem the type to take well to being blindsided. But neither was Emma. She needed to know what she was getting herself into here.

She needed a lawyer, someone she could—somewhat—count on to be on her side if things began to get ugly. Situations with women in Emma's life tended to get ugly, and fast, so although she felt the guilt and acknowledged it, she was also compelled to do this. Besides, this was just a consultation. There were no definites about this particular course of action.

"Amicable amendments to a closed adoption require both parties to agree to the amendments. They are relatively simple, if and when the terms have been discussed and agreed upon beforehand." Mr. Gold pulled out a file and was looking over it as he spoke, looking to Emma every few moments to make sure she was following. "You signed away all parental rights to Henry when he was born." Emma nodded. "As you know the six months you were legally granted have long since passed." Emma nodded stiffly again. "So, have you discussed this desire with the Mayor?" Mr. Gold crossed his fingers and leaned his hands on the desk as he stared at her.

"No. But she can't be looking to arrest me for breaking the closed adoption contract I signed, she's the one that invited me here and thought having lunch with the kid would be good for us. All of us."

"Yes, well these are extraordinary circumstances. If she does feel the need to press charges you have the legal standing to fight the charges as she was the one to break the contract first in finding you and then contacting you."

Emma nodded, she knew that already. She'd known that the moment Regina walked into her apartment and told her who she was and what she wanted.

"I'm not here to make anything now."

"Make?"

"A contract or anything."

"Ah," Mr. Gold nodded his head slowly, his gaze telling Emma he thought her to be a bit slow.

Emma didn't try and contradict him. It was better to be the one underestimated. It tended to work in her favor later if people thought she was just some 'dumb blonde'. That still didn't make the looks any less bothersome. She stiffened in her seat and sat up just a bit straighter.

"I just wanted to know if I'd have a case to like, see Henry on weekends and maybe go to the kid's birthday parties. You know. Just, normal stuff."

Normal stuff that Emma wasn't sure Henry had been able to have since finding out he was sick but knew he would get to experience after the transplant. There were no alternatives. Not now that Emma was invested, no matter how long it had taken her to reach this place in herself.

"After donating your kidney…"

"Liver."

Mr. Gold waved off the correction, "…organ, you will have a substantial claim. Not only to visitation rights but to benefits, living expenses, and health coverage."

"Benefits, living expenses and coverage?"

"Oh yes, our diligent Mayor would, if you so wish, be obligated to cover your health expenses now and anytime in the future should complications arise over time, and also be responsible for comping any of the pay you would be missing while you are recovering."

Emma knew about the possible complications, knew that this operation might mean she was out of her job. Would be a long while before she was able to get back out there and feel confident enough to drop slam someone twice her size after this operation, Dr. Whale and the internet told her so. So she was doing her best to be prepared.

"She's already agreed to pay for home care."

"Yes, well that is the least she should be willing to do." Mr. Gold mumbled, sounding as miffed as Dr. Whale had yesterday afternoon.

"I don't exactly make a steady income."

"If you would bring in some of your W2s I'd be able to give the Mayor an approximate amount for…" he flipped a page in the file, "the next three to six months."

Emma winced a bit at that time table. It would be the longest she had gone without a job since she was twelve. Even while she was in the detention center she had a job, 'forced' on her during the rehabilitation process, but it was still a job. Even after she was knocked upside the head with a tire iron she had only been off her feet for two months.

"I'll see if I can get some of them faxed over." Emma offhandedly mentioned, already thinking how this was going to be a pain in the ass. She hadn't come here to get the Mayor to give her money. She didn't want or need the money. She had a nice nest egg of cash in savings she could use while she wasn't working.

"You seem uncomfortable with this."

_No shit Sherlock. _"That would be because I am."

Mr. Gold studied her over the rim of glasses she hadn't even seen him put on. It made her feel dirty and penetrated in a way that was unpleasant. It was like he could see right through her, read her very thoughts and desires. It was unnerving. Especially from someone she'd already decided was the villain of this town. Or it could be because he was a lawyer. She really hated lawyers.

"I'm not here to take the Mayor's money. Or her son. I'm just looking to do what's best for him, help them both. I don't want to be…_**that**_…person. Okay? I'm already the most interesting person in this town. Last thing I need is for people to think I'm taking advantage of the mayor, who happens to be the mother of a sick kid. Because that's not who I am. I'm not the bad guy."

"No. You're the white knight."

Emma startled at the title, her eyes narrowing at the man across from her. It was the way he said it. The tone of voice and the look in his eyes, the momentary flash of…**something**…Emma couldn't place. It set her off.

He merely shrugged, "I'm fond of fairytales."

"_Right…_" Emma whispered the hairs on the back of her neck standing straight and tall and setting off her own spidey sense. "You understand what I'm saying?"

"You are not taking advantage of Mayor Mills. If she does not offer to compensate you for this act of kindness…or responsibility as you may see it…she is the one taking advantage of you. But, as I am not your lawyer and this is only a consultation the decision is yours. But, should you find you need my assistance, I would be more than willing to take you on as a client."

With that, Emma realized the meeting was over and she couldn't be happier about it. "Yeah, thanks." She stood from her seat and took a hold of Mr. Gold's hand, shaking it. "I'll call you."

She still had his card, the same card Dr. Whale had given her. Why the doctor had the card on him hadn't bothered Emma. Until now, as the very man whose business card it was didn't even offer one or have any readily available on his desk. Nor did he have one available around the shop. She made sure to look as he showed her out. She was observant and anything and everything about this man set her instincts on alert making her more aware of her surroundings. He just, he irked her.

Almost as much as…

No!

Emma shook her head, physically trying to wipe away that thought. She wouldn't go there.

Leaving the shop through the door she had entered Emma looked over her shoulder and noticed Mr. Gold watching her walk away. Shaking off the feeling of being watched, since that's all people in this town seemed willing to do, she made her way back to the Inn.

Regina would be there to pick her up within the next half hour. She clearly remembered telling Regina she could drive to the hospital on her own, but she had received a call this morning before leaving for breakfast from Regina calling to confirm the pick up at ten.

Emma had been too tired to argue and had just agreed. She figured she would be caving a lot when it came to Regina and her stubbornness, especially since she would be here in Storybrooke for the next three to six months. It might have been presumptuous of her to think that all the tests would come back positive or however they needed to come back for her to be the perfect transplant candidate but she knew they would.

They already knew she was a good match, they were just waiting for the lasts of the tests to confirm that so they could take the next step. What that next step was, Emma wasn't exactly sure. She assumed it was setting a date for the transplant and having her eat and drink the right way for the next few days or week to make her liver grade A for the procedure.

There were no other alternatives.

**End Part Eleven**

**Author's Note**: A tremendous _THANK YOU_ to **mooglesmuse **who betad this chapter. It's been a LONG while since I've written anything for This is How it Ends, but I'm back with this update and will hopefully have a better grasp on updating (at least for a while) this particular story. Sadly I can't promise anything more for my others ones though I have not abandoned them and work on them when I can. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. Thank you to all those who have been patient.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Disclaimer: **I do not own _Ghostopolis_ by Doug TenNapel, or _Adventures in Cartooning: How to Turn Your Doodles into Comics_ by James Sturm, Andrew Arnold, and Alexis Frederick-Frost.

**Author's Notes**: I'm keeping my word-to the best of my ability. Another chapter up within 7 to 10 days. :-) Due to-not in a small part-the wonderful **_Mooglesmuse_**. Thank you my dear. All mistakes are mine. After all I am sometimes foolish enough not to listen to her words of wisdom.

Bonus points if anyone can guess which Fairytale the new Storybrooke residents I mention briefly in this chapter come from. I'll put the answer up with Chapter 13. ;-)

* * *

**Chapter 12**  
'_Apprehension Sets In'_

-.-.-.-

Taking her time, Emma walked down Main Street and looked at all the shops. There was a flower shop across the street; a carpenter's shop that caught Emma's eyes as the man was hanging what looked like a fixed sign up. There was the grocery store and what looked like a small pharmacy. Emma wondered if there were any private doctor's offices or if there was just the hospital.

Emma took the time to stop in at the flower shop. She didn't end up buying anything but got directions to the toy store and was told the pharmacy got in a lot of comics. Emma figured she could bring the kid a few comics, and hope he'd never read them before. She'd let him borrow hers of course and she had some great collectables that he'd probably only seen copies of or heard about instead of actually reading a first addition of.

Smiling to herself, Emma found the comics at the toy store alright, nothing she hadn't already seen. She grabbed instead a graphic novel with the first five books. She browsed through the section and decided she'd get a couple. A few for herself to tide her over since she hadn't read the new episode in Buffy: the Vampire Slayer Season 8 and The Walking Dead. She put the Walking Dead back. She'd get that later.

For Henry she got_ Adventures in Cartooning: How to turn your Doodles into Comics, Avatar: The Last Airbender_, and _Ghostopolis _about a boy who was pulled into a world of ghosts and ghouls and had special powers that the bad guy took advantage of. It looked interesting enough, and Emma hoped it would be something he liked.

Having bought the four books, Emma left the book store, her pace brisk and a bit hurried as she realized she was running late.

By the time Emma made it to the Inn Regina's car was already there and the woman was on the phone, and by the looks of it she wasn't happy. Her hand was waving around in the air and her shoulders were stiff as she paced back and forth in front of her car.

Running over to the woman, she caught the tail end of what she was saying, rather loudly, into the phone.

"Her car is still here but she has not been seen for some time. I know it is too early to jump to conclusions, Graham, but I…" Regina stopped talking, listening to something that was being said on the other end or rendered speechless by the sight of Emma standing in front of her, arms crossed and eyebrow raised. "I'll call you back." Regina closed her phone and stared at Emma.

Emma wasn't sure if Regina was angrier to have been overheard or to have been kept waiting. "Morning."

"Hmm…" Regina's stare was just as penetrating as Mr. Gold's but didn't evoke the same flight instinct that his did. Oh no, on the contrary it made her want to stay and fight, or bicker, whichever.

Regina's eyes stopped on the bag in Emma's hand, noting Martin and Petulant's Toy Store insignia on it.

Emma blushed as Regina looked at her in question and hid the bag a bit behind her back. "Comic books," she answered. "They had some I haven't read yet."

"So there is nothing in there for Henry?" Regina asked, her lips twitching as she attempted not to smirk at Emma's sudden embarrassment.

"Of course, it's just, not all for him."

Regina hummed as her answer and the two stood on the sidewalk staring at each other. Regina seemed fit as a fiddle to remain where she was, trying to figure some puzzle out that revolved around Emma while Emma could hardly stand still. She was swaying her weight back and forth and looking around them, waiting.

"So…hospital?"

"Yes. You are ready now, aren't you?"

"Uhm, actually…hold on, for another minute!" Emma held up one finger to stall Regina before she rushed to the parking lot across the street where her yellow bug was parked.

Regina watched, arms crossed over her chest and foot tapping, as Emma found something in the trunk and locked her despicable car before returning to the curb. This time holding an old shoe box under her arm.

Regina rolled her eyes, refusing to ask. She got into her car and was pleased when Ms. Swan got in without being prompted. She even put on her seatbelt directly after storing her shoe box and bag of goodies under the seat.

The ride to the hospital was silent save for the radio giving the local weather report and the ping or ring of Emma's cellphone. The blonde made a show of turning it on silent after Regina had glanced at her one too many times questioningly. Regina had noticed that each time the screen flashed it was the same name that popped up. Something, someone's name that began with an A-S. Regina did not ask, though she wished to.

According to the weather report it seemed the chill was going to be around for the rest of the week, but the weekend promised to be beautiful. By then, Regina hoped, they would all be in the hospital, both patients recovering in their own rooms. It may be bleak but it was how it was.

While others hoped for good weather to enjoy she hoped that she would miss out on it by being in the hospital. It wasn't a normal aspiration, a normal thing to hope for, but it was something she was hoping for more than anything at the moment. For this to be all over, for her son to have the transplant that would save his life and have his body not reject it this time.

"Henry is…looking forward to lunch." Regina finally stated as she arrived at a red light several blocks from the hospital.

Beside her Emma shuffled in her seat and gripped her seatbelt tightly. "I'm looking forward to it too." Emma whispered, her fear translating through the softness of her voice as if speaking about it suddenly made it even more real.

Regina sighed heavily, her entire body slumping forward a bit at the weight of it. She did not know what to say to the blonde. Not about how nervous she had instantly become at the mention of Henry. In her mind they would either get along or they would not. Emma was not Henry's mother. She was his birth mother, yes, but Emma was not his mother.

Regina was his mother. She had raised him. She had been there for every tear, ever fever, every disappointment, every test at school and the hospital. Henry woke to her face after every procedure. He gave her mother's day cards and presents. He was hers.

Emma being here would not change that. It wouldn't.

She had admitted, only once, to Kathryn, how fearful she was that Henry would like Emma better. Emma was not his parent. Emma would not have to tell him no. Emma would be saving his life when Regina herself could not. It would be Emma's liver that gave him a full life, just like it was Emma who gave him life. Emma could take him to the movies and get him ice cream and spoil him. She would not need to scold him or make him go to bed when he did not want to.

Emma would be fun, and Regina...?  
Regina did not know what she would be.  
Because Emma being here did change things.

"He isn't…" Regina started the car and stared intently at the road so she did not have to look at the woman beside her as she spoke. "He is very frail. He has lost a lot of weight in the last few weeks." Regina felt the words stiffen in her throat, getting stuck.

She cleared her throat and forced the burn at the back of her eyes to disappear. Everything would be better soon. Very soon. Because of Ms. Swan.

"His skin color and weight may be intimidating. Do not focus on it. He gets very self-conscious over it." There was ice in her warning. She had no threat adequate enough to throw at Ms. Swan were she to inadvertently or advertently hurt Henry.

Emma nodded stiffly, only voicing an "Of course, I-I-I won't." when it became apparent Regina was looking for a verbal confirmation that she understood.

Once again the car was silent. They arrived at the hospital soon after and both exited the car and walked into the hospital as if they had done so together a hundred times before. Regina had, but as this was Emma's second time here the Mayor was surprised that Emma was leading the way. It wasn't an overly large hospital but new comers hardly learned the twists and turns so quickly.

Focusing on Emma's innate ability to recall her previous routes was easier than focusing on her fears, all of them, and there were many.

"You know, a foster sister of mine was sick. Leukemia." Emma's voice startled Regina as it echoed around the small box car of the elevator.

"Oh?"

"Yeah…" Emma took a deep breathe a shadow passing over her at the memory, not a pleasant one. "I haven't seen Henry or been around sick kids since then but I won't make this harder for him. Or you. I'm here to help." Emma looked up from the floor and met Regina's eyes.

The Mayor was caught off guard by the sincerity in Emma's words and the open vulnerability Emma was exposing for her to see. Thankfully Regina was not required to say anything in response as the elevator doors opened and they once again set off towards Dr. Whale's office.

Regina idly wondered as she followed slightly behind Emma just how many times Ms. Swan would surprise her.

-.-.-.-

Emma and Regina sat across from Dr. Whale as they had just the day before. The room wasn't as tension filled as it had been just yesterday afternoon, however. Dr. Whale was smiling and seemed excited. It was contagious. Regina was practically vibrating with energy at the good news the Doctor had just delivered.

"The surgery is going to be scheduled for Sunday. We have five days to prepare both. I'd like to start now, just in case." Regina and Emma both cringed at the idea that they'd have to have a 'just in case' back up plan. But they could both live with that. The surgery was a go.

"What do I have to do?" Emma asked.

"I'm going to give you a list of foods you need to stay away from in the next few days. Also the recipe for some cleansing drinks that will clear out any residual toxins. I won't lie. They will taste like paste. But…"

"Don't care what they taste like." Emma shook her head, leaning forward in her seat as she stared at Dr. Whale.

He smiled and nodded his head, already knowing she wouldn't care. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you. Besides that I'll need you to come in for another test tomorrow."

"What test? I was under the impression that they had all been run?" Regina suddenly sat straighter in her chair, doing her best to keep from commenting on Emma's slouched shoulders. This woman was going to save her son's life. She would deal with her lack of proper etiquette.

"They have been. This isn't about Emma's liver or blood tests. This is for her rehabilitation."

Emma cringed, she knew this part of the game. "You're going to make me run on a treadmill."

"Yes, record your blood pressure and heart beat, muscle mass, flexibility, the works." Emma nodded as she sat back heavily in her chair. "I presume you've…"

"I had physical therapy for two months after an incident with a runner."

Dr. Whale shot a questioning look to Regina as if she might know what a runner was meant to mean. Regina rolled her eyes and rolled her shoulders in answer, as she didn't find it important. However, something came over Dr. Whale's face and he looked through Emma's medical history.

"There isn't mention of this injury in your file?"

Regina stiffened as Emma looked at the Mayor, afraid the woman was going to have a heart attack or a stroke, or both with how pale she had just become. Emma was tempted to grab the file off Dr. Whale's desk and start using it to fan the woman.

"Does that…change things?"

Emma stilled, her head slowly turning to look at Dr. Whale herself after the question was voiced. "It shouldn't." Emma was quick to insert, staring longingly, hopefully, at Dr. Whale as he flipped through the file on his desk as if the account would magically appear in it. He was no help.

Emma turned to Regina and waited for the Mayor to look at her, there was an accusation at the tip of the woman's tongue. Emma could see it in the brunette's expression. She was going to blame Emma and her lifestyle, her job, for Henry's death because it would now keep her from being a donor.

Emma knew that, and although it angered her that Regina would even think to say it, she couldn't show her anger over it since the Mayor was doing her best to restrain herself from saying it out loud. Even though the once over she gave Emma made the bounty hunter feel like a worthless peasant before a Queen.

"It was a head injury, I dislocated my shoulder in the fall, had to work on rebuilding a muscle that sprained during it." Emma begged Regina, as if the Mayor herself could make it so her words were true, to believe her.

They both turned towards Dr. Whale as he sighed and remained leaned forward in his chair.

"Why didn't you mention this before?"

"You're the ones that hacked my medical history. It should be therah…" Emma groaned as she slapped her hand against her head. It wouldn't be there. Of course it wouldn't be there. She had been going by a different name then, an alias. Emma tried to remember which alias she had been using then. She came up with a blank. There had been too man since then. "Look, there was only that one big incident and the time I was shot."

"SHOT!?" Regina threw herself towards the opposite side of her chair, trying to get as far away from Emma as possible so she could better look at the woman beside her.

Emma groaned again at the decibel level of Regina's shout, and rubbed at her temple. "Look, you have my medical history. I've been shot, stabbed, and bashed over the head by a tire iron. I don't live a nine to five life, okay?" Emma became defensive; it was a habit hard to break after so many years of being judged. "I've gotten in with the wrong crowds and I've gotten out of it and I've had bad things happen to me." Emma chanced a sideways look at Regina. The Mayor seemed uncertain about everything she was mentioning but there was a flash of some…recognition…when she mentioned bad things happening to her.

With a sigh she stared back down at the floor. "I've lived under different aliases too. But you already know about the stab wound that made me go into labor early with Henry. The shooting was after I got out. It was a drive by shooting that I was in the wrong place at the right time for." Emma explained all of this as she stared down at the tile floor beneath her, wondering why Dr. Whale didn't put in a carpet. It would make the office feel…homier. Looking up at the two staring at her she focused on Dr. Whale, afraid to look at Regina.

"You knew about that though. The shooting was to the same shoulder I have trouble with. You did all the other exams, you saw the scars. You did the internal exams. They all came back clean. So do me, us, all of us, a favor and tell her that I'm still a good match for the transplant." _Please, please say I still am._

"You're still a good match. This doesn't complicate the surgery. Just, possibly, the rehabilitation."

Emma and Regina both sagged in relief, though Emma was quicker on the uptake. "How much does it complicate the rehabilitation?" Emma asked suddenly fearing she might really and truly be out of job after this.

"May, it may, possibly. We will have to see."

Emma hated doctors sometimes, she really did. "What's the worst case scenario?"

"Emma, we don't want to go into those right now, the good thing is.."

"Look doc, I need to know how long I'm going to be recuperating. I need to make plans for myself, set up my finances, make calls. What's the worst case scenario on me being able to go back to work? You had mentioned three to six months before. What are we talking about now, eight, ten?"

"Possibly a year." He admitted, knowing that there were cases of people needing an entire year, if not more, to recover from this type of surgery. But with the scar tissue that they had already looked at they had tacked on the additional three months to Emma's recovery time.

Emma nodded her head, and stuck her tongue roughly against her cheek as she leaned back into her seat. She went over numbers in her head. How much it cost to stay at the Inn for a night and multiplying that by 364 days, then the cost of food. It would be cheaper if she found an apartment or maybe even leased a place. She sucked in a deep breath, a whistle sound echoing through the room.

Regina sat stock still as she allowed Emma the time to come to her decision. There was still time for her to back out. This was the first time Regina was forced with the knowledge that this procedure might not be so straight forward for the woman sitting beside her. Yes, she knew the recovery would be difficult but she had assumed Ms. Swan would recover similarly to Ms. Blanchard, who had been back to work two months after the surgery. She heard from others that there were times she was still weak but it hadn't yet been six months since the surgery. To think that Ms. Swan would need to be in Storybrooke for a year, recovering from saving her son, put things in a different perspective.

She would do anything to save her son. She would offer her entire fortune to the woman if it made her stay, made her come through with her words that she had only just spoken twenty minutes ago in the elevator. She promised that she was here to help her, to help Henry.

Regina's grip on the arms of her chair tightened, her knuckles flashing from red to white as her grip tightened the longer Ms. Swan remained quiet.

"Alright. Okay." Emma nodded. "You said I have five days…?"

"Ms. Swan if this is…"

"Yes. Five days."

Dr. Whale and Regina both stated at the same time.

"If this is about money, I can supplement any lost income you will face."

"Even for a year?" Emma asked surprised, wondering just how affluent the woman was.

"I am quite wealthy." The vein in Regina's neck bulged as her skin became clammy and sweat itched all over her body.

Emma blinked, knowing that Regina was well off, but she really hadn't considered just how well off she was. "I was just thinking that I couldn't afford to stay at the Inn for a year." Emma laughed nervously, "It's probably not the best place to stay anyway, not with the amount of stairs there."

"No, it wouldn't be." Dr. Whale commented, the Inn did not have an elevator, but Mary Margaret's apartment had.

"I was wondering about leasing agreements, places to rent maybe."

"You were still going to..."

"Of course!" Emma snapped her head in Regina's direction. "I'm not heartless, Regina!"

Regina blinked, flashing back to when Mary Margaret made a similar comment to her while they stood in her classroom while informing her she was a match. It silenced the barb that had been moments away from sliding past her lips about how she could not be sure what Ms. Swan was. After all, she had already seen first-hand how deep into denial the woman could go, and how it was easier for her to run, rather than to stand and stay.

Regina was so consumed by the flash back that she failed to comment on Emma's use of her first name instead of her title.

Emma shook her head, disbelieving Regina's audacity. She was here wasn't she? She'd come, and she'd stayed, she was still here! Even now! What more could the woman want from her? Oh right. Her liver.

"I was just trying to figure out a better place to stay. I saw the real estate office on Main Street. I'll stop in there, see if there are available apartments."

"I will sign any leases you might need a second signature on." Regina quickly offered, "I will pay for it. Any and all of your expenses. You need not worry about money while you are here." She quickly spouted off, anything to get Ms. Swan to stay.

Anything and everything.

_For Henry._

Regina felt an itch against the side of her neck, making her turn to see Dr. Whale staring at her rather impatiently. Regina looked between Dr. Whale and Emma quickly, deciding to focus on Ms. Swan.

"I've already contacted a home care nurse who will take on your case. She only needs an address."

Dr. Whale sighed and rolled his eyes as he sat back in his chair. He had hoped Regina would open her home to Ms. Swan so that it would mean one less house visit for him to make during the patients' recoveries.

"I will go with you to the real estate office after lunch with Henry." Regina swallowed thickly, her nerves on edge, her body trembling in anxiousness as she stared pleadingly at Emma, unsure she could trust the woman's word. Until Emma was under Dr. Whale's blade there would remain a fear that Emma would disappear and leave her, leave Henry, to their dismal fates.

Emma nodded, her hand twitched to life. It reached across the space between her chair and Regina's—which wasn't much—and covered Regina's hand as it grasped tightly onto the arm of the chair. She squeezed it gently as she looked into Regina's eyes, trying to convey her conviction to stay, to make the Mayor believe that she wasn't going anywhere.

"I'd appreciate that."

"Well then…" Dr. Whale clapped his hands together as he stood from his seat. He went to his bookcase and pulled two marked folders off the shelf. "Ms. Swan, this is yours." He handed Emma a blue folder. "Regina, this is yours and Henry's." He knew that Regina was aware of the procedures for a transplant but he was obligated to give her the list anyway.

Both women stood from their chairs, Regina quickly pulling her hand as close to her body as possible, and as far from Emma as she could, and took the folder.

"Thanks, doc. See you tomorrow?"

"Yes, at two pm."

Emma nodded, noting the time as she briefly looked down at the folder in her grasp. Emma moved towards the door and held it open for Regina, her eyes still on the folder.

"Thank you for your time, Dr. Whale. I will be in contact." Regina shook Dr. Whale's hand and offered him a truly genuine smile. "Thank you…" She whispered, heartfelt.

Connor nodded his head and offered Regina a brilliant smile. "This time it'll work, Regina."

Regina's smile faltered for only a moment, she made it stay by sheer will and determination. This time, yes, this time it would work. Regina nodded her head slightly as she released Dr. Whale's hand and walked from the room.

It was only when she was nearing the elevator bay that she turned to see if Emma was following her when she felt the blonde bump right into her. They both tumbled forward, only just managing to stay upright by pushing their arms forward and pressing their weight against the elevator wall. Emma's arms trapped Regina between her and the wall, their folders dropped and papers scattered on the floor.

"Ms. Swan, please, watch where you are going." Emma shivered at the acid that dripped from Regina's warning.

"Hey…you're the one that just stopped walking like a freaking tourist." Emma complained, her face a bit flushed in her embarrassment for having been so absorbed in the folder that she had missed Regina's abrupt stop.

Regina sighed and turned around and oddly found herself staring into Emma's eyes as the woman remained in front of her, practically pinning her to the wall. The Mayor cleared her throat and raised her eyebrow in question.

The sound got Emma moving, and she shot away from Regina, a good four feet away, before she dropped down to the floor to pick up their scattered papers mumbling her apologies as she went.

Regina found it rather…adorable. The look of shock of being caught doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing was a replica of Henry's. That was the only reason she found it adorable. That. Was. All.

"Sorry…" Emma mumbled, her head seemingly permanently bowed as she held both folders and papers against her chest and waited anxiously for the elevator.

Regina smirked, finding it thrilling that she still had the capability to render someone speechless.

The walk to the car was quiet, uncomfortably so.

At least she's not staring at the ground again, Regina thought as she met Emma's eyes over the top of her car.

Once they were seated Regina waited. And waited. Then pointedly cleared her throat and gestured with her eyes to Emma's seat belt.

"Oh, right." Emma didn't fumble with the seatbelt, just quickly snapped it in place and began rubbing her palms against her jeans. "So, lunch with the ki…Henry?"

Regina started the car and was mindful of the bystanders around them as she pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street.

"Yes. I prepared homemade soup. He can't eat very much or anything too heavy. Now that the surgery is coming he'll need to go on a liquid diet again, as I am sure you will need to begin as well."

Emma nodded slowly again, digesting the news as she stared down at the folders in her hand. Rolling her eyes she began resorting the papers, glad that they had a header with either Mills or Swan at the top and were numbered.

"Here, sorry about that." Emma raised the folder and put it in the back seat.

"Yes, well, what was it you called me?"

A sideways grin pulled across Emma's face. "A tourist."

"Yes, is that an expression commonly used in Boston?"

Emma huffed a laugh, until she realized Regina was serious. "Wow, you're serious. Okay, well yeah, I guess. Not just for Boston, but for any big city. You were like a tourist. You stopped dead in the center of the path, like a tourist does when they see a captivating sight and just needs to stop and take a picture. It's annoying." Emma's eyes sparkled as she saw Regina's truly inquisitive expression, captured by her description.

"What, you can't have only lived here your whole life. As far as I've seen there are no college campuses around here and law school hasn't been moved to the internet just yet."

Regina's innocent intrigue was instantly lost, and Emma almost regretted saying anything.

"Well, no, of course I haven't." Regina looked away from Emma, focusing again on the road. "I went to Brown." Which of course, Emma realized was a lie as soon as Regina said it.

Emma sat up a bit straighter in her chair as she faced Regina. Sure she had to be mistaken. Why would Regina lie about where she had gone to law school? To impress her maybe? The woman was the Mayor of a not so small town in Maine, and from what others had said, a decent lawyer. Why lie about where she went?

"Have I suddenly grown a second head?" Regina asked, noticing Emma's staring.

"No. Just a big nose." She mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Regina's eyes hardened as she came to a stop sign and turned once more to look at the blonde in her car.

"Nothing. Just got a bit of dust on your nose." Emma amended quickly. "Here…" Emma reached out and brushed the pad of her thumb over the tip of Regina's nose before the woman could look into the mirror and realize she was lying. She pretended to flick the dust particle away as she withdrew her hand. "There. All gone."

Regina watched Emma's hand, even crossed her eyes to watch as the blonde's thumb brushed over the tip of her nose. "Hmm…"

Regina said nothing more on the matter, instead focusing on navigating her way to her home.

As they drove, Emma became visibly more anxious until she was practically unable to sit still in her seat. It almost appeared like the woman was doing her best to keep her bladder under control. The sight actually calmed Regina gave her a small, tiny bit of peace of mind about the upcoming introductions.

Emma Swan may be Henry's birth mother but she was also a stranger to him. A stranger that was going to save his life, thus gaining Regina's unending gratitude, but still a stranger.

There was nothing to fear.

Emma may be the fun one but she would always be the stranger because Regina was Henry's mother.

With that thought in mind Regina pulled the car into the driveway and did her best not to bristle with delight at the wide eyes staring at the luxuriousness of her family mansion.

Emma whistled in astonishment at the immaculate white mansion in front of her. "Jesus H. Christ you really weren't kidding when you said you were wealthy."

"I wish I could say I came by it honestly."

Emma snapped her head to the side and stared at Regina. Regina was surprised to see the harshness behind the blonde's eyes over the statement. It made her uncomfortable.

"An expression for when you inherit the money. Like I did."

"From who?"

Regina raised a brow at the tone, it was heavier than the other times Emma had asked her something. It felt decidedly like she was being interviewed or interrogated.

"My father."

Emma nodded her head and the Mayor knew even without Emma saying anything, that the woman had filed that information away for later. Why it would be so important Regina couldn't imagine. It was just so rare that anyone ever asked her these types of questions. Then again, Emma was the first stranger that had come and stayed longer than a day for some time.

Watching Emma reach under the chair for the shoe box and the bag from Martin and Petulant's toy shop Regina decided she would give Ms. Swan a free pass. For now. She'd chalk this split in personality to her nervous anticipation of meeting Henry, since Emma suddenly appeared to be a nervous kitten, ready to screech and race away at the slightest of movements or sudden noises.

Regina's theory was proven when she closed the door and Emma jumped at least half a foot in the air.

"He is only a boy. He will not eat you."

"Huh?" Emma asked, meeting Regina's eyes over the top of the car once again.

Regina leaned her hands on the top of her car. "Henry. He's just as nervous as you are. He, he wants you to like him. Just…be yourself." Regina advised, walking towards the path that led to the front door before suddenly stopping again.

She turned around, hand raised, and a single finger held up. "Yourself, with a censored vocabulary, okay, Ms. Swan?"

Emma, who'd hardly made it to the front hood of Regina's Benz, nodded her head, not even taking offense to the veiled insult. She did have the mouth of a sailor when she was defensive, angry, or nervous. So she mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key before slowly following Regina to the front door.

This was it.

_Now or never Swan, now or never._

**End Chapter Twelve**

* * *

You can skip this bit if you wish. :-) Thank you for reading this far! :-)

**Author's Note**: So, that is the end of chapter twelve. Chapter 13 should be up in a week to ten days. (And I think I'll be able to keep that up for a while longer. Things have begun to turn around. Good news abound the last few days. So hopefully that will continue.)

_**Fair warning now**_, chapter 13 is _**slow**_. (chuckles) as if this whole story hasn't been slow. (grins) But it is SLOW (and short) and very internal for our characters. I swear there is a reason and hopefully you'll enjoy it.

Chapter 14 promises a lot of dailouge and is equally 'short'. But it is Chapter 15 that the twist I've planned with this story from the very beginning-but am now only getting to-comes to light (for the most part)! So, I'm excited about that and what you'll all think of it. Hopefully it'll go over well. :-)

Hope you've enjoyed this chapter and will stick around for the next ones to come! Thank you all for reading, following, favoriting and dropping me a line. :-D

Till then! Enjoy your day/afternoon/night!


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Part 13  
**'_The Needs of the Mills'_**  
**

-.-.-.-

The Mayor opened the door, not even needing to use a key to open it. She immediately stepped into her home and moved to the coat rack to hang up her jacket.

"Kathryn, Henry? We're home." Regina called out into the house, sure that Kathryn and Henry were in the living room. She didn't want to surprise them by just walking into the room. It was better to give Henry a moment to prepare himself. She hadn't been trying to comfort Emma when she told the bounty hunter that Henry was nervous as well. He had been incredibly jittery this morning. It made his stomach a bit upset.

Regina hadn't known how to calm him, to ease his fears. They were fears she could not protect him from, though she longed to. She had only been able to assure him that Emma would like him. Would find him worthy. He hadn't used the term worthy. He had just been nervous, was still nervous, about whether or not Emma would like him. It came down to a few simple things. One of which was Henry's desire to be presentable. He wanted to look nice for Emma, wanted his outfit to overshadow what he considered his ugly skinny arms and legs.

When he put the clothes on last night they had practically dwarfed him. He'd insisted on wearing his 'election clothes' or the outfits Regina bought him to wear when Henry joined her at the office. Henry equated them to the 'church clothes' his friends wore, seeing as they did not attend more than a few times a year.

It was the sight of his tears that broke Regina's heart. Henry hadn't been as angry as he'd become last night in months. When Henry first got sick he was very angry about the unfairness of it all and had taken it out on everyone and anything, but mostly Regina. It was why Regina had scheduled him appointments with Dr. Hooper. Henry needed a healthy way to release his fears and anger and frustrations, and Regina needed the help, because she didn't have the healthiest track records when it came to emotional expression.

Last night when Henry became so upset that he threw his clothes about the room, pulled out his IV and knocked over the stand it had all come to a head. It was like returning to the early days of his illness, except the devastation that shook his fragile frame now seemed insurmountable as he'd cried.

Regina had promised Henry, kneeled down in front of him and cupped his cheeks to make sure he was looking into her eyes, that Emma would love him. Emma wouldn't like him. She would fall in love with him. It was impossible not to. He made everyone who met him fall in love with him because he has such a big heart, beautiful soul, and bright smile. It had taken some time to calm him enough for him to fall asleep, and they'd had to reconnect his IV port which had been uncomfortable for him.

But as soon as he had fallen asleep Regina spent the night, with Kathryn's assistance, taking in Henry's pants and shirt to the best of her ability. Thanks to the memory and acquired talent of making her own clothes for some time, she knew how to use a sewing kit but now had the advantages of modern technology and an assistant.

The hard word and the pricks to her fingers had been worth it. The moment Henry woke up and she helped him put on the clothes—even as he tried to push it off—and saw how well they fit. The smile. The brilliant breathtaking pure smile that had brightened Henry's face the light of which could lead Regina through her darkest hour was what made it all worth it.

Emma would never know just how much work had gone into this afternoon, and a part of Regina wanted to tell her. Wanted to explain that buying Henry a few comic books and spending a few hours nervous out of her mind was nothing compared to what had taken place in this very house over the last twenty four hours. The last four years, the last ten. But she didn't. She didn't say any of what she wished. What she longed to say so that Ms. Swan might understand.

Regina took a deep breath as she composed herself, her fingers smoothing out the wrinkles on her hung up coat. She decided to focus on how excited Henry was now, not how upset he had been.

The moment Regina took, it would appear, Ms. Swan was in need of as well.

Regina was surprised when she turned to see Ms. Swan still standing in the open doorway staring straight ahead, her face a bit grey.

"Ms. Swan?"

"Oh…" Emma awkwardly stepped aside when Regina tried to close the door behind her.

Emma's grip on the shoe box under her arm tightened and she felt sweaty, her heart racing against her chest, her stomach suddenly a breeding ground for butterflies or bees.

Yes, bees, because they were nastier than butterflies and she felt ill. Oh god, she was going to get sick. Maybe she shouldn't have had such a big breakfast. She always felt nausea when she was nervous and…and…

"Breathe…" Regina advised, taking pity on the woman who seemed about ready to pass out in the foyer of her home.

Emma took in a deep breath as if Regina's command alone made it possible.

"Now out." Emma released the breath while Regina rolled her eyes and shook her head minutely from side to side. "Compose yourself."

Emma snapped her eyes to Regina, quick to anger at Regina's blasé tone.

Regina noticed the shift in Emma's emotions immediately. The woman's gaze hardened and her body tightened, wound up, readying to strike. With a sigh, she touched Emma's shoulder, gently, awkwardly.

"That was unkind." Regina was at a loss for words for a moment as Emma readily agreed.

"Yeah, yeah it was. I'm doing the best I can here."

"As am I, Ms. Swan. This is not easy. For any of us. I understand, in my own way, what you are feeling."

"You do?" Emma tilted her head to the side as if she didn't believe a word Regina was saying.

Fear.

Regina knew the look of fear well. She had seen it on dozens, hundreds, of faces in her many years of life. She had watched the uncertainty turn into an all-consuming, breath stealing, body freezing fear. There was only one time Regina had ever seen, felt, this same fear herself. It touched her, in a way, that Emma was experiencing this fear over the same matter Regina herself had.

Henry. And it pulled at her, the same way it did when Henry experienced a nightmare and stared at her with hopeful, willful eyes that depended on her to ease away the terror, the fear. How could she not ease Ms. Swan's fear? All she could see when looking into Emma's eyes, beautiful green eyes, was Henry. And she would do anything for Henry. Anything.

"I was terrified before I met him, Ms. Swan. Before they put him in my arms I was a wreck. I ran through a list so long of disastrous things I could do or be as a bad mother that I scared myself into a panic attack. I was worried, and nervous, and incredibly frightened that I wouldn't be a good mother. I worried that he wouldn't take to me. That there would always be something between us…." Regina's words died off as she suddenly couldn't meet Emma's eyes. "You."

"Me?"

"I feared that you would always be between Henry and I. That I, as his adoptive mother, would not be…enough for him."

Emma's eyes widened, her mouth opening slightly as if to say something. Nothing came to mind. What was there to say? She could only listen and stare, entranced by the Mayor's show of vulnerability, of brutal honesty.

"But when they put him in my arms. When I looked into his eyes…"

Emma was captivated by the gentle smile that spread slowly across Regina's eyes. The Mayor's eyes glazed over as if she no longer saw Emma standing in front of her but the smiling infant she verbally recalled for Emma's imagination.

"…when I dried his tears and held him against my chest and soothed him." Regina swallowed thickly, "When he smiled at me for the first time and gripped onto my finger. He stared up at me with such…_love_."

Emma felt her heart clench in her chest. She wondered what that type of love felt like, the unconditional love of a child. She had given up that chance with Henry and in her stead Regina had experienced it. A part of her wanted to be angry, jealous of Regina but the larger part of her was grateful that Henry had that moment and that he had shared it with Regina.

"To him," Regina breathed softly, "to him it did not matter that I was not his biological mother. That I did not carry him. He was an infant," Regina shrugged her shoulders, her thumb moving from side to side against Emma's jacket, Emma watched the movement from the corner of her eyes still unable to truly look away from the open canvas that Regina's countenance had become.

"He did not understand such things. But what he did understand was love and safety and warmth. He understood that I made sure he was fed and warm and held him when he cried."

Regina wiped a single finger under her left eye; it itched. There was no tear. Not a one. She cleared her throat and straightened her shirt, staring at Emma's shoulder and her red leather jacket, where her hand still remained. As she stared at her hand, needing to concentrate to get her thumb to stop brushing sideline over the material.

"It's not the same for you." Regina forced herself to look into Emma's eyes, content to allow her hand to remain where it was for now. "He's not an infant. And he understands much more than any child his age should understand. He's had to handle the pressures not even a grown man should. But none of that matters. His illness, the fate of the next few days, it doesn't matter. Just for today." Because it mattered to them all a great deal. It would always matter, Henry's safety and security would always matter to Regina. And to Emma as well.

"For today. Today he's not the boy you're going to save." Regina refused to blink, trying to instill the importance of her next words with just looking into Emma's shining blue eyes. "He's not the baby you put up for adoption. Today he's a little boy who wants nothing more than to impress you. For you to like him. To tell him he's loved." Regina felt her words stick in her throat as she saw Emma's first tear fall. "Today he needs you to be his mother."

Emma gasped for breath at the title and Regina's fingers gripped onto her shoulder tighter.

"I need you to be strong for him Ms. Swan. Because he needs you in this, almost more than anything else, because saving his life will mean nothing if he does not have your approval. That's the type of person the baby you bore and I raised is. That's the type of person Henry is."

Emma nodded, slowly, tears falling from her eyes one after the other.

Regina released her hold on Emma's shoulder and stepped away from the emotional woman. She cleared her throat again; she must be getting a cold, because the tickle at the back of her throat like the burn at the back of her nose was becoming a persistent nuisance.

"So, prepare yourself Ms. Swan. Because this isn't going to get any easier. And if you have to I expect you to put on the best show of your life because Henry deserves more than just your love. He deserves the love of multitudes."

_And just when you thought she was human_, Emma thought a bit bitterly as she tried to feebly wipe away her tears, as if Regina hadn't already seen them.

"When you're ready. Come into the living room…the second door on your left…when you're ready." Regina turned on her heel and fled the foyer, leaving Emma to wipe at her cheeks to erase the evidence of her tears as she saw fit.

Emma watched Regina walk down the hallway, leaving her standing in the midst of the Mayor's open foyer.

Instead of going directly into the living room Regina went to get herself a glass of water. She leaned against the counter in front of the sink, her fingers gripping the marble. Closing her eyes against a sudden sting in them she bowed her head, her hair falling around her face, hiding it from sight as she composed herself. She focused on her breathing trying to slow the rapid rise and fall of her chest as her heart jack hammered against her ribs incessantly.

After a moment she lifted her eyes to stare out the window, where her apple tree stood proud and tall in the backyard.

An echo of her words to Ms. Swan rang out in her ears: _I need you to be strong for him Ms. Swan. Because he needs you._

"We both do." She whispered into the empty room.

Releasing her hold on the counter Regina smoothed out invisible wrinkles in her shirt before turning on her heels and proceeding into the living room with as bright a smile as she could muster.

Kathryn and Henry both looked up as she came in through the side doors. Henry's face fell, his eyes narrowing in on her as she entered the room. His hands were rubbing roughly against the arms of his armchair.

"Is she…"

"She's just hanging up her coat."

Kathryn raised an eyebrow in question as she turned to her friend. Clearly not believing Regina would have left any guest to hang up their own coat. Peering at Henry, she could see he didn't seem to believe her either.

"She'll be here momentarily," Regina promised as she walked over to Henry and bent down to kiss him on the top of his head.

He grimaced but didn't wave her away. His eye roll and the dramatic way he wiped at his forehead to make sure she didn't get lipstick on him was second nature to him by now and only made Regina smile. It was little things like this, normal actions like this, that brought Regina the tiny slivers of peace and hope. Hope that when this was finished and Henry recovered he could regain a sense of normalcy for boys his age.

"How, how did the meeting with Dr. Whale go, mom?" Henry asked, snapping his head up to look at Regina, appearing surprised he hadn't asked that the moment she'd walked in.

Kathryn held her breath and released it in a happy laugh as a smile as bright as Regina had ever had formed across the brunette's face. It brought tears to Kathryn's eyes and Henry's.

"The surgery is scheduled for this weekend."

Henry tugged on Regina's shirt and pulled her to him. She bent down, kneeling just before the chair to allow him to hug her and hide his face against her neck. She felt his tears against her neck and her grip around him tightened. He instinctually mimicked her actions.

Regina kissed the top of his head, breathed in his scent and relished in his warmth and the happiness settling around her. There would be no talk about rejections. There was no need. Regina had paid her price. So long as it was Emma's liver Henry would live. There would be no need to fear any longer. They could relish every future memory together as he grew up, became a man, and started his own family. It would be a long time before Regina would need to say goodbye to her son and when that day came she would be the one to say goodbye, not him.

Kathryn, seeing the precious moment between mother and son, slipped out of the room. She sent a text message to Graham that spoke of good news. He replied almost instantly that he would be there soon.

As she was slipping her cellphone back into her pocket she noticed Ms. Emma Swan for the first time. She saw the taller muscular woman standing on the stairs looking at one of the many photos on the wall.

Looking back into the living room Kathryn watched as Henry and Regina wiped away at the tears that had fallen from Henry's face, a smile permanently etched over the boy's face.

Seeing him suddenly become nervous again she decided it was time to get this show on the road. The last thing they needed was for him to make himself sick. They had some celebrating to do after all.

-.-.-.-.-.-

In front of Emma were two open doors that lead into what appeared to be a dining room. Emma had never lived in a house as spacious as this one. The group homes didn't count. Those weren't houses, not in the sense that Emma thought of them. They were always so packed with other kids there didn't seem to be enough room for her.

Emma wondered what it would be like to grow up in a house like this. Henry and Regina, just the two of them. Here. In this beautiful home with its white and black walls and the tile floor.

It seemed so sterile. And yet…there was a warmth in the air that the architecture could not give off. The walls in front of her were bare but as she turned to the side and looked up the curling staircase she noticed frames. Looking more closely she saw they were scenic portraits, painted, and there were pictures of Henry. Even some of Henry and Regina together.

Emma stepped slowly into the house, craning her neck to see up the stairs and the photographs of Henry as a toddler. They were professional photos. The kind parents went to the mall to take and waited in line and had the preordered background and amount of copies sorted before the camera even snapped the picture.

In most of the shots Henry was alone or was holding a stuffed animal of some sort. The photos continued up the stairs, a wall of life. Henry's life documented in each snap shot.

Emma found herself drawn to the pictures. She couldn't help it. She had always wondered what Henry had looked like as a toddler, would he look more like her or his fa-father? Emma had always hoped that he would look more like her.

Emma stepped onto the first step, took the second and then a third her hand gliding over the banister. Her eyes riveted at the chronological line of photographs.

There were pictures of Henry in a baseball outfit and as an Indian in what looked like a school play. Then there was a large frame with almost a dozen smaller photos. . It was a collage of sorts with a black background and the word Halloween curved around the top of the frame. Henry was dressed as Tigger, a Dalmatian, a power ranger of some kind in another, Cyclops from X-men, and Spiderman. What fascinated Emma with those pictures more than the characters Henry was dressed as was the woman standing beside him and the characters Regina was portraying.

In one Regina was dressed as Rabbit from Winnie the Pooh, an adult female version of the power ranger Henry was dressed as, Storm from X-men, and Cruella with what looked like a real Dalmatian sitting between her and Henry on the stoop.

Emma looked around the house wondering where the dog was now. Henry couldn't be older than four in that photograph and in all honesty Regina didn't seem like a dog person to Emma. Maybe a cat but she had been known to get her wires crossed. After all, she hadn't thought the good Mayor was the type to dress up for Halloween and yet, here was the evidence. It seemed she and Henry dressed up together and took a photo outside on the stoop or in this foyer every year.

They had traditions. Happy looking traditions and memories here in this house that didn't revolve around illness or hospital visits. Emma was glad for that. Glad that Regina had given Henry that for as long as she could. Emma wouldn't have these many memories with Henry. Wouldn't know the kid he had been in these pictures. But she could get to know the kid he was now. Regina was giving her that chance. Life was giving her a second chance to be a part of Henry's life in the cruelest of ways, but it was a second chance. She wouldn't blow it.

She could be whatever Henry needed her to be.

"You must be Ms. Swan." Emma turned to look over her shoulder, startled at the unfamiliar female voice.

Turning around on the steps Emma descended them slowly, eyeing the lithe, well composed blonde in front of her. "Yeah. I prefer to go by Emma though."

Emma watched as the woman looked her over. When her eyes finally came back up to meet her eyes there was a gentle smile on her face. Whatever test she had been unknowingly involved in she apparently passed.

The woman stepped forward and offered her hand, "Kathryn Nolan. I'm a friend of Regina's and Henry's tutor and home health care provider."

Kathryn had short blonde hair, the color darker than Emma's own and elegantly sharp features. She had blue eyes so blue Emma had to look away lest she drown.

"Oh, oh!" Emma shook Kathryn's hand a bit overstatedly. "Dr. Whale and Regina have said, ah, great things about you."

Kathryn's grip wasn't hard but strong and the way she held herself impressed Emma immediately. And worried her, a bit. If Kathryn and Regina were the type of women Henry was surrounded by everyday what chance in hell did she have of impressing him? Henry came from a completely different world than her, had been raised in one that many dream about.

Here Kathryn Nolan was dressed to the nines, as was Regina, and then there was her. In a pair of jeans, the nicest blouse she owned, expensive sneakers, and her red leather jacket. How in the hell was she going to compare to these women? How could she compare to Regina? Who was an accomplished woman, a Mayor and lawyer for goodness sakes, and the type of mom Emma always wanted. Caring, dedicated, present.

Emma released Kathryn's hand and ran her hand against the back of her neck, suddenly extremely nervous again.

"Would you like to join us in the living room?"

Emma nodded, "Yeah, yeah sure."

Kathryn led the way, Emma trailing behind her. She stared once more at the stairwell wall until she could no longer see it.

Kathryn stopped walking in the center of a large open doorway, the two sliding doors pulled open. Emma could hear music coming from the room, it was classical and it sounded soothing.

"Henry?" Kathryn spoke, her voice carrying right to Emma's heart making it pound heavily against her chest. Just inside that room was her…was Henry. "There's someone here who'd like to meet you."

With a deep breath Emma stepped into the midst of the doorway, her eyes closed. As she opened them she watched as Regina slowly stood up and beside an armchair. Her eyes moving as if everything around her were in slow motion until they finally found the sight they'd been looking for.

Henry.

Sitting in an armchair, an IV pole somewhat hidden behind Regina, and a stuffed bear sitting against his side that he clung to tightly. He wore a dark pair of slacks, light blue button up and what looked like a clip on tie. His skin was as gray and pasty as Emma imagined it would be, though there was a soft red tint to his cheeks and just under his eyes. He was skinny, skinnier than she'd thought he'd be, but he was beautiful.

It was when his eyes met hers that she gasped.

She stood there across the full length of a room and stared into her own eyes.

Emma wasn't sure how long she stood staring but it was the sound of someone—Kathryn or Regina, she couldn't tell which—clearing their throat that broke the spell she'd gotten trapped within.

"Ah, heya kid. I'm…"

"Emma."

Emma felt the skin of her arms prickle with Goosebumps at the sound of his voice. It was soft and airy and made her think about what it would sound like when he reached puberty.

"Yeah, I'm, ah, I'm Emma."

Henry smiled, his head tilted to the side. "You're going to help me."

"You bet I am, kid."

"Good." He nodded slowly. "We've been waiting a long time for you."

**End Chapter Thirteen **

**Author's Note**: Thank you for reading this chapter and the last! Last week/chapter I posed a question to you lovely readers about which fairytale the characters I mentioned came from. Galadriel-lll you were/are correct. The characters Petulant and Martin come from Evelyn's Sharp's short story/fairytale; **The Wonderful Toymaker. **

That is all for now. :-) I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will enjoy the next few as well.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter 14**  
'_Awkwardness Abound'_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

There was an awkward silence that filled the room after Henry's statement. Emma shifted nervously, her packages crinkling beneath her arm. The plastics crinkle sounded louder than it would in any other situation. It only made Emma's muscles tighten, her anxiousness rising, but she wouldn't look away.

Still, no one was saying anything and the slightest of sounds were deafening.

Kathryn cleared her throat again to break the staring contest between Henry and his birth mother.

"Can I take your jacket, Ms. Swan?"

Emma turned to her, her movements slow and stiff. Her eyes were glazed over with unshed tears and a fear so profound Kathryn was drawn in immediately. However the fear was gone as soon as it appeared as the blonde shook her head, clearing her emotions away, while she shrugged out of her jacket. Awkwardly juggling her bag of goodies as she did.

"It's Emma." The younger woman reminded her gently, her voice lower than it had been when she was addressing Henry.

"Yes, of course. My mistake."

Kathryn's smile was disarming and put Emma at ease, at least for a moment. Then she remembered where she was standing, who she was talking to, and who was watching her from across the room. Whatever tension she had lost returned.

"Let me," Regina tried to cut in, appalled that she hadn't offered to take Ms. Swan's coat before while they stood in the foyer.

Kathryn would have none of it. She held up a hand to forestall the woman.

"I'm perfectly capable, Regina. I'll bring in some of the snacks. Let you three talk." The nurse folded Emma's leather jacket over her arm and offered her friend a reassuring smile.

Regina seemed unsure, whether to correct her faux pas or remain at Henry's side. It wasn't until Henry's hand reached out and threaded his fingers into hers that she made her decision. She squeezed Henry's hand as she retook her kneeling position beside his armchair. She wouldn't leave him.

Kathryn watched the silent communication between mother and son with a grin. She took her leave from the room willing to bet that when she returned Ms. Swan would still be standing and Regina would have taken a seat beside Henry on the love seat.

Emma watched as Regina released Henry's left hand only to pick up his right on her way to taking a seat on the love seat. There was hardly any space between the couch and the armchair that Henry sat in. It kept mother and son in easy contact with each other. Contact that both of them seemed to need at the moment as it offered a comfort Emma could not understand. The large frame of the chair Henry sat in looked like a throne, with Henry the image of a regal King anointed long before his time.

A smile played across Emma's lips at the thought. The smile caught Henry and Regina's attention immediately. Henry squeezed Regina's hand while Regina's eyebrow raised in question long before she voiced it.

"Is something funny Ms. Swan?" The Mayor hissed, a warning clear in her tone.

Emma bit her bottom lip and shook her head from side to side. "No, no I just, I understand now."

"Understand what?" Henry asked, his voice much softer than Regina's had been. He chewed nervously on the inside of his cheek as he awaited Emma's response.

Emma turned to look into Henry's eyes, the replica of her own, rather than at Regina's intimidating gaze. "Why the people of this town consider you a Prince. You have a very regal air about you even when so young."

Whatever fears Henry had about Emma's smile disappeared instantly and a smile unlike anything Emma had seen spread across his face. It made him seem so much younger than he appeared. So sweet and innocent but so very young.

"You think so?" The light in his eyes was like that of any child his age when they found something entertaining.

Emma inclined her head, "I do."

Henry glanced between Regina, his toothy grin making Regina's shoulders lower, her tension dissipating. Henry's happiness was like a balm to the fiercest of moods or wounds, at least for Regina.

"I was thinking of going as a Prince for Halloween this year." Henry couldn't decide who to look at, his mom or Emma. So he split his gaze looking quickly from one woman to the other.

Emma's eyes narrowed in wonderment as Regina groaned at the idea. Henry's energy seemed to triple in seconds at the sound. The solemn air around him completely disappeared as he grinned slyly at his mother and then looked to her. She recognized that look. The kid had an idea, a sneaky one at that. It reminded her of how she had looked as a teenager and…_God_! His dimples were as deep as the Baltic sea.

"That sounds like a pretty great costume, kid." Emma couldn't help but look to the slightly miffed Mayor. "What Prince did you have in mind?"

"I don't know. I mean, not yet anyway. I still have a while. But I wanted mom to go as Princess Leia."

Ah… Emma smirked, that was the reason the Mayor was seemingly beside herself at Henry's choice of discussion.

"I think she'd make a pretty decent Princess Leia, bun hair and all." Emma ignored the Mayor's flaming cheeks as best she could. "But what about Maleficent?"

"Hmm…that could work." Henry appraised his mother critically, attempting to imagine her dressed as the Maleficent he saw in his book.

Regina's gaze snapped up, any amusement lost immediately at the notion that Ms. Swan was casting her as a villain, a witch. It was something far too close to who she had once been, and still was. What stung most was Henry's apparent intrigue at the idea.

"How generous of you Ms. Swan. To cast me as an evil…"

"Woo, woo…I only meant that you'd look better in black and purple than in white. Your skin tone…just…it would suit you better. In my opinion. But it's not up to me." Emma was quick to point out. "It was just an idea. Besides, I always liked Maleficent." Emma held up both of her hands to try and stall for time or escape the scathing rebuttal Regina was moments away from spewing. As she raised her arm she fumbled to keep a hold of the shoe box as she did. The bag from the toy store was wrapped around her wrist and rose up with her arms.

"Oh crap…" Emma muttered as she tried to grab the shoe box. How embarrassing would it be if it fell and all the contents spread all over the floor? Then she'd have to bend down and pick it up while trying not to die of embarrassment as Henry and Regina watched her clumsy self, pick up her mess.

Taking a step to the right Emma slapped her palms against the bottom and top of the shoebox in order to catch it and keep it from tumbling over and spilling all the contents around them on the floor.

"Everything alright in here?" Kathryn asked having heard the loud echoing bang Emma's catch had released. She looked nervously between Emma and the two Mills sitting beside each other. Emma was still standing in the doorway, as she predicted, just grasping tightly to a shoe box in an awkward pose.

"Yes," Regina assured Kathryn immediately. "Ms. Swan was just demonstrating her ability to save herself." Regina explained.

Regina met Emma's sheepish grin with pursed lips, the only way the Mayor could contain an amused smirk.

She would let the blonde off the hook. For now, but only because she seemed so truly frazzled and off her game. She was too easy a target at the moment, and thus no fun.

Meanwhile Henry was a giggling mess at her side, his eyes widening and zeroing in on the bag from the local toy store immediately. Regina rolled her eyes, her son loved receiving presents and she wasn't averse to giving him them. And neither, would it seem, was anyone else in this town. Including Ms. Swan.

"What's in the box?" Henry leaned up in his seat in an attempt to get a better look at what Emma was holding.

"Well…ah…" Emma swallowed nervously as she ran her fingers over the faded Nike symbol on the top of the ratty old shoe box. "It's a surprise I brought to show you. It's ah, well you see. You're mom told me that you liked comics. I like 'em too. So I thought…" Emma swallowed again, feeling decidedly overheated as she stood in front of a captivated audience, not something she was very skilled with handling.

Taking the momentary pause, Kathryn touched Emma's arm to gain her attention. She gestured to the open armchair. It sat across from Henry's putting the coffee table between Emma and the two Mills.

"Oh, thanks." Emma bowed her head in as she took the seat, sitting at the very edge of it so that she could reach out and put the shoe box on the coffee table. "Anyway," She wouldn't pull at her shirt collar, she wouldn't pull at her shirt collar! "I thought I could bring my collection. Let you borrow a few of them if you found any you liked."

Henry's eyes lit up as he turned to Regina, seeking approval. Regina nodded her head in the briefest of movements before leaning over to take up the shoe box. As her fingers touched the ratty looking box her eyes met Emma's seeking the woman's permission to touch her property.

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead." Emma nervously rubbed her hands together as Regina put the box on her knees and opened it.

Regina reached in and took out the first few comics and handed them to Henry.

Emma wondered why Regina didn't just hand Henry the box but didn't have the gall to say anything about it. Sure it had to do with where the box had been and germs and such. So she kept her mouth shut and watched Henry look over each of the comics. His eyes widened with each title he read and his fingers gently, practically reverently, leafed through some of the pages.

"How many do you own?" Kathryn asked as she took the seat on the couch beside Emma's arm chair, closest to the other blonde. A strategic move on her part so as not to alienate the blonde from them all even though she would have much preferred to sit next to Regina and offer the brunette silent strength and comfort.

"I probably own over two hundred." Emma admitted with little embarrassment as she watched Kathryn's eyes widen at the number. "There are only about fifty or sixty in that shoe box. The rest I have back at my apartment in Boston. Some in other boxes others in cases."

"Cases?" Kathryn asked while Regina and Henry whispered over one of the comics he'd found.

"Yes, some of them are rare, worth a lot of money now. Most of those ones I could probably sell for a bit of money too, but I didn't keep them in the best conditions. The others I have."

"So they're collectables?"

"Oh yeah." Emma nodded enthusiastically. She didn't have many conversations with other adults about comics, hadn't since the last time she went to a comic con which had been a few years ago. "I'm a bit of a nerd."

"Yes, I can see that." Kathryn grinned, making Emma blush

Emma's attention was quickly diverted to Henry as the boy gasped. For a moment Emma panicked thinking he wasn't feeling well but when she saw the astonishment clearly written across his face she relaxed. Across from her Kathryn did as well.

"Can I get you something to drink, Emma?"

Emma watched Kathryn stand from her seat. "Oh, uhm, water is fine."

"Regina, Henry?"

"Kathryn let me…"

"Don't." Kathryn warned and Emma watched in awe as Regina stopped moving and sank back into the couch, the mayor's mouth snapping shut at the order.

Emma couldn't help but wonder how long it had taken Kathryn to wield such power and control over the Mayor. How long had the woman been working with Regina? How long had they been friends? When did their relationship change from employee and employer to friends and confidants? Hell how long after that had Kathryn found she could tell the Mayor what to do without repercussion?

Emma remained amazed and Henry didn't even look up from his comic books as he answered. "Me too, please."

"Henry…" Regina's tone was low, her gaze disapproving.

Henry looked up from the comics and addressed Kathryn. "Please and thank you, Kathryn."

"Oh, Gina leave the boy alone. He's got his hands on some _classics_." Kathryn stated even though she knew very little about comic books and her exaggeration was for entertainment purposes only. "He'll need to look at them now before Graham gets here. Then he'll never get them back." The nurse winked as she made her way from the room.

Henry's jaw fell as if he just realized he had a time limit with how long he had a chance to look at the comics. His pace picked up as he flipped through them quicker.

Emma watched Kathryn leave over her shoulder before she turned to Regina. The name the nurse spoke rang a bell but she didn't know from where. Had Regina mentioned a Graham before? As she raked her brain she couldn't pinpoint a moment that Regina had mentioned him, no.

Suddenly Emma considered something she hadn't before.

Regina wasn't married.

Emma had been able to deduce that from her lack of ring. She hadn't asked around to see if there was any divorce to speak of or a significant other. Hell for all she knew Kathryn was Regina's lover.

Emma stopped breathing for a moment at that thought. She really could use that water right about now. Her face had to be as bright as a neon sign. She was just lucky no one could read her mind to see what she was thinking. The idea of Regina and Kathryn certainly wouldn't be surprising. Not really. There was something about Regina that prompted Emma to believe the woman didn't strictly date men or hadn't in her past.

Actually, the way Regina held herself and the vibes she gave off left Emma struggling to imagine a man at Regina's side. Regina, to Emma, was a man eater. That was for sure. Regina was a strong, confident, intelligent, wealthy, hardworking 'single' mother. Oh yeah, Regina definitely ate men for breakfast. And Regina had to enjoy it, revel in consuming men (and hell maybe women too), if the brunette's heated gazes and demeanor told an accurate story.

So was this Graham, Regina's boyfriend? He spent enough time around everyone in this room, Emma could tell. None of them had even questioned the man's like of comics or of his upcoming appearance. They'd all continued on as if it was a natural occurrence. But for Emma that still left the question. Who was he?

"Graham?"

Regina turned away from watching Henry's enthused eyes take in as much of the comics in his lap as he could. It was a wonderful sight to see, for him to be as excited and thrilled as he was in this moment. He radiated happiness and enthusiasm.

The question about Graham caught her off guard, startled her even. She had almost forgotten that Emma was present she was so consumed by memorizing Henry's expressions.

"Sherriff Graham." Henry answered before Regina could open her mouth. "He's Kathryn's boyfriend and mom's friend. He loves comics too. He buys me some every once and a while and lets me look at his." Henry answered, never looking away from the page in front of him. His fingers skimmed over the images before turning the page. He wasn't so engrossed in the worlds available to him that he wouldn't answer any of Emma's questions. That was why Emma was here, to talk to him, get to know him, let them talk and get to know each other.

It was as he thought about answering Emma's questions that he realized he was being rude and his mother wasn't stopping him. Which was odd on his mom's part but he didn't comment on it. So he closed the comic he had been looking at and saw how Emma ran her palms up and down her legs. He did that too. When he was nervous he did it the most since his hands always got sweaty.

Emma blinked as Henry peered up from the collection suddenly more interested in her, than in the classic comics now available to him. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. The comics were a diversion, and had been a good one thus far. A buffer of sorts but Henry's enthusiasm was waning and his attention now fully diverted to her. She gulped audibly and leaned back a little, preparing herself.

"These are awesome! I can't believe you have some of these. They don't, they don't sell most of these anymore." He gushed glad to see Emma's face brighten at his enjoyment over the comics.

Emma chuckled, "Yeah, well I've been collecting them since I was your age."

"Really?" Emma nodded in answer. "That's cool. What uhm…" He licked his lips, his mouth a bit dry. "What else were you into when you were my age?"

Emma looked up at the ceiling, suddenly trying to think of all the things she was interested in when she was ten. "Wow, uhm, let's see. I liked comics, obviously. But I also liked video games. At ah, one of the homes I stayed in, there was this arcade a few blocks away. The foster parents were…"

"You were in the foster care system?"

Emma's head dropped back down heavily, her eyes widened, her mouth hanging open halfway into saying her next word when Henry interrupted her. She clicked her mouth shut suddenly. Her eyes moved between Regina and Henry, looking for some help, some advice from the Mayor. She hadn't realized Henry wasn't aware of her time in the system and she really didn't want to tell him much about her bouncing around. The kid had enough to deal with, he didn't need her baggage.

"Yes, Henry," Regina began, "Ms. Swan was in the foster care system until she was sixteen."

Henry nodded his head, trying to understand what that really meant for his…for Emma.

"Did, how many, uhm…homes were you in?"

Emma saw Regina cringe, if you could call the sudden twitch in her cheeks a cringe. "Fourteen, in total." Mostly every year it was a new place, sometimes twice a year.

"Oh, that's ah a lot." Henry conceded, though he didn't really know if that was a lot or not. By the sadness that colored Emma's expression and clouded her eyes he knew it wasn't a good thing at any rate.

"Yeah, kid is was." Emma finally pulled at her shirts collar, unable to stop herself from doing so.

Henry cleared his throat, his eyes downcast suddenly. "Is that…" Henry sighed heavily, "Why did you give me up?"

Emma felt her chest tighten and her body jerk forward then back on it's on accord as if absorbing a blow to the ribs. She saw Regina had stiffened at Henry's question and was holding onto his hand with both of her own again.

"Henry that's a very personal…" Regina tried to give Ms. Swan a bit of leeway. She didn't need Henry to know anything about the story of his conception and birth. She didn't truly want him to know much about Emma's time in the system, she wanted to protect him from that as best she could. He didn't need the ideas in his mind that he too could have been sent to fourteen different homes in his time in the system. He didn't need those kinds of images. He had enough to worry about.

"I gave you…." Emma's whisper stopped Regina from continuing.

Regina twisted her head sharply, but slowly towards Emma, and let the woman compose herself before continuing.

Henry glanced up at her through his eye lashes, putting her on the spot.

"Oh god…okay. Uhm…" Emma slapped her hands against her thighs and squeezed tightly. She forced herself to stare at Henry. "Henry, I gave you up for adoption so that you might have your best chance. I wasn't, there was a lot going on in my life that made it impossible for me to take care of a child. I wanted to." Emma admitted, her throat closing on her and forcing her to clear it loudly. Her nails, what was left of them, dug into her thighs fiercely.

"You did?" Henry and Regina both asked at the same time. Mother and son both squeezing tightly onto the other's hand at the news.

It worried Regina immediately. If Emma had wanted to keep Henry before what was to stop her from trying to get him back now? What was stopping her from hiring a lawyer and taking Henry from her? Regina couldn't lose Henry. Not to this illness and certainly not to Ms. Swan. She would be damned before she…

"Yes, I, wanted to keep you. So much, it hurt." It pained Emma to admit to her previous desires. "But I wasn't what was best for you, Henry." Emma closed her eyes for a moment. "So I trusted in an adoption agency to find you a good home with people that could take care of you in ways that I couldn't." She opened her eyes and stared directly into Henry's eyes, willing him to understand. "Because I _**couldn't **_Henry. I couldn't give you a home or clothes or even food. I wasn't capable of being a mother. I couldn't keep you safe and…" She stopped herself from saying healthy because that seemed too cruel in their current situation. So she moved on, quickly, wishing and praying and wondering why the hell she'd agreed to this to begin with.

"I think. No. No," Emma stated firmly as she kept herself from panicking. "I _know…_that it was the right thing to do, to put you up for adoption, don't you?" Henry didn't answer and the longer he remained quiet the stiffer and darker Regina's demeanor and expression became.

"You have a mom who loves you more than anything in this world. Who is willing to do _**anything **_for you. You have a whole town who thinks the world of you, a safe house to come home to. A bed to sleep in, lovely clothes that you look dashing in." Emma blinked away the tears in her eyes. She laughed at herself and the use of the word dashing, somehow expecting Regina to comment on the use of it, but she didn't. So Emma pulled herself together and tried her best to say the next truth she needed to level on a ten year old. "You wouldn't have had that with me."

Henry blushed at the word dashing, but kept silent. Regina held her breath, too entranced by Emma's words to dare say anything at all.

"I couldn't have been your mother then. I wasn't ready. I wasn't capable in the ways that really matter. Because loving you was easy. But love wasn't food. It wasn't warmth. It wasn't safety."

Emma swallowed thickly, wondering where Kathryn was with her water. She sure could use some about now.

When Henry remained silent Emma noticed how Regina seemed to be shrinking in on herself. The wounded, betrayed, devastated aura began to pulsate around the mayor stronger and stronger the longer Henry remained stoic.

Henry continued to stare at Emma, nibbling at the inside of his cheek like Regina did when she was considering something important.

"You just wanted me to be happy and safe." Henry sounded so confused.

Emma nodded once. "Yes, I did."

The boy took a deep breath and finally looked away from Emma. He stared down at his right hand, saw how it was covered almost completely by his mother's hands. He felt the warmth of her touch and the tight squeeze of her fear as clearly as he did her fingers. "You are right. I did get all of that, have all of that." Henry smiled as he stared at Regina. "Thank you."

Regina sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes brimmed with tears as she tilted her head up to see Henry wasn't looking at Emma any longer but was staring intently at her.

"Henry?" Emma flinched at how broken, vulnerable Regina sounded.

Henry smiled softly, knowingly, and gazed at Regina with the same love and adoration he had when he was an infant and held onto her finger with his whole hand. Nothing would ever change how he felt for his mom. He loved her. Regina was his mom. She always would be.

"I got the best mom ever." Henry switched his gaze between his mom and Emma. "I've had an amazing life and I wouldn't have had that anywhere else."

Emma knew what Regina meant when she spoke of how Henry was far older than he seemed. The kid turned to look at her and the gratitude in his eyes was enough to make her tears finally fall. They escaped and slide unapologetically down her cheeks.

"Thank you for giving me my best chance."

"Yeah…" Emma croaked, "…no problem kid."

He then turned to his mom. "And thank you for giving me the best."

Regina dry sobbed once, and bowed her head low so she could smother Henry's hand with kisses. "Always, my dearest, always."

Kathryn took that moment to make her way back into the room. A smile plastered on her face even if her cheeks were still a bit damp from the tears that had fallen as she listened to the conversation from just inside the kitchen.

"Lunch is ready."

**End Chapter Fourteen**

**Thank you, dear reader, for stopping by. :-D That is all for now. Hope you enjoyed. **


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